


Merge to One

by ChocolateSyrup



Category: Detective Pikachu - Fandom, POKÉMON Detective Pikachu (2019), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon - Fandom
Genre: Be Careful What You Wish For, Gen, harry doesn't change back, then something happens, well he does
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-03-06 18:36:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18856768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateSyrup/pseuds/ChocolateSyrup
Summary: He has to tell himself that they are the same—his father and Detective Pikachu are the same person. He might not be merged into a Pikachu body now, but he's still the same Pikachu he'd known, even as a human.So why does he still miss him?





	1. Chapter 1

_Because I'm still kind of upset about the ending._

xxxx

It's strange.

In the beginning when he'd first met the electric mouse, Tim never would have expected that he'd actually miss him and his annoying voice once Mewtwo changed him back into his father.

His _father._ Pikachu had been his father all along, and of course they have the same voice...but it just wasn't the same. He still can't believe that he hadn't recognized the voice of his own dad.

He guesses that's what years of not talking or seeing each other does to an already-strained relationship.

It's only been about three days since he and Pikachu had thwarted Howard's plan to merge people with their Pokémon, yet it feels longer. It seems like no one remembers that particular part of the plan; only that Howard had done something awful by experimenting on Pokémon, and he wasn't about to try and remind them. He's pretty sure Harry doesn't remember a thing about being merged with Pikachu, either, judging by the way he'd been so confused about wanting coffee all of a sudden.

His father is back to normal in his original human body, and that was the way it should be.

So why does he still miss _him?_ Why does he have the horrible thought that deep down, he just wants the smaller, yellow detective back?

'Normal' Pikachu is with him in his childhood room, curled into a ball at the end of the bed. He peeks an eye open as if he can feel Tim staring at him.

"You can understand what I'm saying, right?" Tim asks softly so as not to startle him too badly out of his slumber.

Pikachu tilts his head curiously, confirming to Tim what he feared. _Detective_ Pikachu would have responded instantly.

"Well...maybe not understand actual words. But you know what I'm feeling, right?" Tim asks, just to be sure.

Just like the Bulbasaur herd that had led them to Mewtwo for help. Now that he knows the truth, it's crazy to think that's all the psychic had wanted to do; he's forever grateful to Mewtwo for bringing his father back safe and sound, and Pikachu just as much. 

"Pika!" Pikachu himself chirps happily in response, jumping up and placing his two front paws on Tim's lap. He nuzzles Tim's shoulder gently with his nose, glancing up at him with a bright smile like he knows what Tim is thinking.

Tim smiles in return, albeit with a sad one. He reaches for the tiny detective hat he'd left next to his bed where he would always be able to see it, placing it carefully in between Pikachu's ears.

The Pikachu glances up towards his forehead, his eyes lighting up with joy that it's back where it belongs...but Tim isn't sure that this was the right Pikachu to be wearing it.

"I wish I could still understand you. I wish..."

 _I wish he was still here,_ Tim finishes the thought. It's wrong, but he can't seem to help it.

He has to tell himself that they are the same—his father and Detective Pikachu are the same person. He might not be merged into a Pikachu body now, but he's still the same Pikachu he'd known, even as a human.

"Hey, kid."

Tim tenses for a moment, half expecting that when he turns around, he'll see another certain Pikachu with a hat.

But all he sees is his human father standing by the bedroom door—the way it's _supposed_ to be.

Tim cringes. How long had he been standing there? Did he hear him talking with Pikachu?

"You want to get a coffee before leaving?" Harry asks, almost tentatively as if he's afraid of asking at all.

 _You want to get a coffee?_ Detective Pikachu's words echo through Tim's mind. He would never be able to sit down and not think of him, especially as his dad enjoyed a cup. They had shared so many similarities, yet he still hadn't picked up on the signs.

"I..." Tim hesitates, glancing down at normal Pikachu. The electric mouse's smile seems to fade as he attempts to come up with something reasonable to say, if only to make it sound like he's not trying to avoid his own father. "I kind of have to get going, Dad. It's not really professional to just quit your job without any kind of notice."

Two weeks was always preferred, but he had just up and left. He'd intended to go back home after saying goodbye to a father he'd originally believed was dead, but then he'd run into another certain detective who had convinced him that Harry _wasn't_ dead. He'd never even bothered to let his boss know or use any vacation time.

Well, there went that promotion; he's lucky he hasn't actually been fired, the company being understanding of his family emergency situation. He just needs to go back and gather his things, and maybe say goodbye to one or two co-workers he had said hi to at least once every day in the morning. He doesn't want to leave a bad impression.

Harry nods in agreement, but Tim can still see disappointment lining his face, and he feels terrible.

"We better get going," Tim says. He can't be late for the train, or else he'd be stuck in Ryme City another day when he needed to take care of things before coming back—because he _was._ He was just going for a few days, and then he would be back with his father and Pikachu again.

They could get to know each other better while working as detectives like he'd suggested, and then maybe he could even consider...staying? For good? But only if that's what he really wanted, as his father had assured him. He doesn't have to stay, but he really does want to try.

Getting up from the bed, Tim nods towards Pikachu for him to follow.

"Pika, pika!" he squeaks eagerly, leaping off the bed to scamper besides him.

The disappointed look on Tim's face is enough to send a bit of worry shooting through Harry. Had he missed something?

"You know you can always talk to me, right?" he asks uncertainly.

 _Like I used to with him,_ Tim can't help but think.

"I do, Dad. I really do," he reassures his father with a smile, though he can't help but feel it's a little strained. If Harry noticed, he doesn't say anything.

"Well...we should get going, then. I wouldn't want you to leave anything left undone back home," Harry says before following behind Tim.

His son turns around suddenly for a moment, eyes hopeful about...something. Whatever that something was, Harry isn't sure.

"Hey, Dad?"

He pauses behind Pikachu, eyes glinting with hope that just maybe, Tim wants to go for that coffee at the last second.

"Do you remember anything...weird from the last few days?" Tim asks, and Harry's stomach sinks.

All he can do is shake his head, unsure of what kind of disappointment he'd be bringing his son.

"What do you mean?"

_So he really doesn't remember a thing._

Tim shakes his head. "Never mind."

Harry only watches as Tim prepares to leave, heading towards the apartment door.

"Pika," Pikachu whispers, standing next to his partner and staring up at Harry with sad eyes. He glances back down at him, and the detective can't help but feel the mouse knows something he doesn't; he wishes he could understand.

 _What's wrong, Tim? You can tell me,_ he wants to say, but he had _already_ said something. He doesn't want to pry, fearful of possibly pushing his son away again.

xxxx

Harry stands with his son at the station while they wait. He wants to say something to try and break the awkward silence, but he honestly can't think of anything clever or meaningful.

"I'll be back soon," Tim finally says to break the awkward silence.

Harry nods. He has to reassure himself that his son isn't leaving permanently; he's going to come back. He doesn't know for how long, but Tim wants to stay with him. He actually _wants_ to stay, and that was quite a difference from when he'd first tried to get him on the train to come live with him. Whatever had happened that caused them to be brought back together, he's grateful even if he can't remember. 

"I have to get things ready for you here too, so...this is a good start."

He needed to get everything ready so that Tim could begin his work as a detective. The weird thing was that when Tim had first suggested the idea, the mouse had seemed more excited than he was at the thought of his son following in his footsteps. He also has to make sure his apartment is more suited for his son now that he's older; he'd call Tim later and ask if it would be okay to get rid of the Pikachu ears.

"You want to take him with you?" Harry asks, nodding down towards Pikachu himself.

Tim pauses for a moment, and Pikachu's ears twitch. He gazes up at Tim, tilting his head to the side in the most adorable way possible.

"You really mean it?" Tim asks, just to be sure.

It wouldn't be the same as he imagines talking with Pikachu on the train, only to receive no response. He doesn't care that other people would look at him like he's crazy. He can't understand Pikachu anymore, but he could try when no one was looking.

"Thanks, Dad," Tim answers, kneeling down to Pikachu's level. "You want to come with me? We'll be right back."

Pikachu's eyes brighten, and his ears perk up.

"Pika!" the fluffy creature squeaks in excitement at the idea of traveling with his partner's son. Of course he'd already done it once before, but Tim has to wonder if he truly remembers; he knows for sure that his father doesn't. This might not be the _same_ Pikachu, but he could use the company anyway no matter how much it hurt.

"See you soon, Dad," Tim says fondly when the train arrives—a moment too soon for his father.

But Harry knows it's going to be okay as they embrace, because everything was back to normal.

Everything was as it _should_ be.

xxxx

Relief pours into Tim when he sees that thankfully, there's not another Lickitung on the train, or even the same one that had given his face a good lick when he'd first arrived in Ryme City.

"Jack is going to be so surprised when he sees you with me," he says as he takes his seat. The smile never leaves Pikachu's face, and the yellow bundle sits up so he can look out the window.

From denying for so long that he needed a Pokémon and failing to catch a Cubone, Jack would probably be over the moon that he'd finally found a partner.

If Jack was still even there. He'd been planning on leaving like everyone else, after all. He was the last person to stay.

 _But he's not my partner anymore,_ Tim has to remind himself about Pikachu.  _He's my father's partner again, now._

Maybe he could go back and try to find that Cubone, though Tim isn't sure if he would be able to live with a Pokémon that had tried to kill him twice—the second time technically being that crazy Ditto that almost made him fall off the ledge. Still...

He's brought back to reality when he feels something soft crawling slowly into his lap as the train begins to move; he doesn't really mind.

"Is your Pikachu alright?" 

Taken from his thoughts, Tim looks to the side to see a lady sitting across from them, her expression concerned. He looks back down towards his father's partner, and doesn't notice anything wrong at first until Pikachu glances up at him.

"Pi...ka..." the Pokémon groans weakly.

Frowning, Tim takes a closer look at Pikachu. He assumes at first that the Pokémon is just sad he's leaving Harry, but then he sees the way his eyes are droopy and that he's not really sitting up straight. 

The poor thing didn't look too good, like he hadn't gotten much sleep all of a sudden and was fighting to stay awake. Weird; he'd been just fine when they first got on the train only moments ago.

"Hey, Pikachu, are you alright?" Tim repeats the lady's question to him in a whisper, concerned. He doesn't care that she's probably looking at him like he's crazy—like he thinks Pikachu will respond to him with actual words.

"Pi..." Pikachu responds slowly. He glances up slowly towards his partner's son, his strained face not looking any better, and Tim's worry deepens.

"You might have to take him to the Pokémon Center when we arrive," the lady suggests, and Tim shrugs uncertainly.

"I think he just has an upset stomach. Maybe he ate something he wasn't supposed to this morning," he comes to the conclusion, though he doesn't see how. He'd been with him all morning. 

He continues staring down at Pikachu, watching for any other signs of illness. "Think you can hold on until we get there?" 

Pikachu is just barely able to glance up at him for a moment before turning his head away, though Tim can see his eyes close. He doesn't press him any further so he can get some rest.

But if he didn't feel better by the time they arrived, Tim would take him to the Pokémon Center.

He doesn't want anything bad to happen to his father's partner.

Not after everything they'd gone through.

xxxx

One minute he'd been driving, and then the next...it's all blank. He can't recall anything from the time when he'd blacked out in the car and then waking up—to him what felt like only minutes later.

Tim actually being happy to see him was quite a surprise—a nice one at that—and almost made up for his missing memories. He thought about going to the doctor, but then decided against it. He feels fine otherwise, and Tim hadn't seemed to notice anything odd about him; there was just the sad way he looked at him for some reason.

Why? It's like he looked at him and saw someone else, and the reminder made him sad. But Tim hadn't mentioned anyone joining him on his journey to solve his disappearance except Lucy Stevens, the reporter he'd recently met, but he was saving Tim the awkwardness by not asking anything more about her. All he knows is that she does her job well, reporting to everyone in Ryme City about the wrong that Howard Clifford had committed.

He'd _experimented_ on Pokémon.

Somehow, he feels connected to the case. But for some reason, he just can't _remember._

He can't remember anything aside from driving, blacking out, and then waking up back in his apartment like nothing happened, the most shocking thing being that his Pikachu and Tim had been there waiting for him, both looking equally concerned yet relieved that he was okay. Of course, the person who seemed most surprised had been Lieutenant Yoshida when the man saw that he was alive and well after being convinced that he'd been dead for so long.

The case was closed.

Happy tears had been shed, he'd apologized for hardly ever being there, and they even hugged. But after that? Harry isn't sure what had gone wrong. Things seemed to be going well at first, but then...Tim had just shut himself out again, and Harry has a bad feeling that it has something to do with _him._

He opens the door to his apartment. It's quiet, almost too quiet without his Pikachu trailing behind him like he normally does, but he welcomes the silence that allows him to think.

The first thing he decides to do is make himself a coffee—still one of the only things he's been able to think about, for some weird reason—and sits at his desk to try and comprehend the mess that he still needs to clean up. Whether that mess meant all the papers littered on his desk or making things right with Tim, he isn't sure.

He brings the coffee to his mouth to take a sip, unprepared for a strange voice that enters into his mind without warning.

_"Put down the stapler, or I will electrocute you."_

Harry gasps, grabbing the desk with a hand to try and recollect himself. The coffee spills over all the papers, much to his dismay, but that doesn't seem as important at the moment.

What just happened? What was that voice? But before he can even begin to process the strange and unexpected occurrence, it happens again with almost no warning just like the first time.

_"It's my father's place! That's why I was there, why were you there?"_

_"...You're Harry's son?"_

_What's happening?_ Harry has no choice but to question again, his head swimming. Why was he seeing blurry images in his mind like this? He can't exactly make them out very well, the strongest color he can make out being yellow.

_"Then how do you know you're a detective?"_

_"Well, I can feel that in my jellies!"_

His stomach cramps, and he has to hold it tenderly with both hands as the burning pain intensifies. He gets up from his seat, rushing towards the bathroom to avoid making another mess that he doesn't want to have to clean up.

_"I'm not here to find my father, I'm here to say goodbye!"_

_"Hey, there's no one to say goodbye to!"_

Harry sighs in relief as the images begin to subside, but the pain in his stomach doesn't leave.

It only gets worse, forcing him to lightly squeeze his sides to try and fight the awful burning sensation until it finally disappears along with the headache and weird 'flashbacks' if that's what they could even be considered. He _was_ having a tough time remembering what had happened from the time he'd driven, blacked out, and then woke up in his apartment. Tim hadn't really told him anything he might have known.

Who had been talking? It sounded like Tim, but who had he been talking _to?_ Was it the little, yellow blob he could barely make out?

The weirdest part was that it sounded just like him.

 _His_ voice.

Harry doesn't understand, the confusion only growing and getting worse.

What are jellies? That particular question doesn't seem as important, but it's still confusing; probably slightly more confusing than the rest of the questions he has.

Looking up at the bathroom mirror, he's shocked by how it suddenly seems like he hasn't had any sleep for days, which is partly true. He's just glad the images and burning pain in his stomach are gone, at least for now...he hopes they won't come up again.

_Maybe it was something I ate._


	2. Chapter 2

He hasn't really taken his eyes off of Pikachu, the worry that something might be wrong being almost too much. He's anxious for the train to stop so he can get to the nearest Pokémon Center, but they had just started moving; it would be a while before they arrived home.

Tim eventually allows his thoughts to wander when he feels Pikachu's steady breathing that lets him know the Pokémon is having a good sleep, at least.

He has to wonder...now that Pikachu and his father are un-merged, where exactly did the  _other_  Pikachu go? The one who'd been with him through everything, the one who had amnesia? Even though Mewtwo had shown them the flashback and what happened in the car crash, it seemed like Pikachu still hadn't truly remembered his 'past life' as Harry, if that's what it could be called. His father and Pikachu had been merged into the same body, creating an entirely new Pikachu out of two minds with a new personality.

Pikachu never even had the chance to share what he felt about the whole reveal, and Tim never even had the chance to...

To say goodbye. The transformation had been too quick. He'd stared down at his paws, then a glowing light began to emerge from his chest.

Mewtwo had been nice enough to transport them back to Harry's apartment and when the change was complete, his father's Pikachu and himself were finally separated back into their original bodies.

What would the Pikachu he'd known so well have said? What would he have done? Tim has no idea despite seemingly knowing him so well. All he knows is that while he had regained a father, he'd also lost a partner.

A friend. Someone who had gotten him to open up for the first time in a long time, to make him realize how much he actually missed the father that he'd assumed never cared, only to find out that he actually  _was_  his father.

Pikachu may have been a part of his father the whole time, but...

The bundle in his lap begins to move again, and Tim looks down to see his father's Pikachu twitching in his sleep. He whimpers, kicking a back leg out, and it doesn't take Tim long to figure out that he must be having a nightmare.

"Chaaa..." Pikachu's already-closed eyes seem to tighten, and he curls in more on himself. In a way, it reminds Tim of when his former partner had tried to protect himself from Charizard.

He's a bit unprepared when Pikachu suddenly jolts awake into a sitting position, fully alert and eyes wide, his tail nearly hitting him in the face.

"Hey. Hey, it was just a bad dream. You're back on the train with me," Tim attempts to comfort the Pokémon.

Or at least, he thinks that's all it was, but he's pretty sure. His ability to understand Pikachu had been stripped, and now he can only guess what the Pokémon must be thinking and feeling. In a way, he feels...at a loss, like he doesn't really know what to do with himself and how to help a friend in need.

But when Pikachu lets out a fearful whimper and snuggles closer to his chest, Tim has a good feeling that the nightmare had to have been about the car crash—the crash where he had begged for Harry's life, and Mewtwo agreed to help save him by placing Harry's consciousness inside his body.

Tim rests a hand on his back as a kind of pathetic attempt at comfort.

"It's okay," he whispers gently. He can only guess just how intense the nightmare must have been. Pikachu had actually been in the crash with Harry, after all, and he had only seen what Howard and Mewtwo had shown him. He hadn't actually experienced it, nor has he ever experienced having his mind merged with someone else's, let alone a different species.

This Pikachu has certainly been through a lot, and Tim suddenly feels guilty that he'd ever doubted that the Pokémon was deserving of wearing the detective hat. He'd begged Mewtwo to save Harry, and in the most unexpected way possible. It was because of him that he finally reunited with his father and was now willing to give him another chance.

"It's okay..." Tim murmurs again softly, gently moving his hand back and forth along his fur.

Much to his relief, Pikachu relaxes under his touch, if only a little. An ear twitches, but he remains asleep.

It's then that Tim wonders if it had been a good idea to bring Pikachu on the train at all; maybe he'd developed a fear of traveling no matter what kind of transportation due to the crash.

He honestly wouldn't blame him.

Tim almost starts to doze off himself, but opens his eyes before he can truly fall into a deep sleep.

Pikachu's awake again, standing on all fours in his lap. He circles around about three times before lying down once more, letting out a frustrated huff.

His eyes don't close, and he remains awake.

"Can't get comfy?" Tim asks. Glancing to the side, he sees that the lady sitting across from them is asleep, and he's relieved she isn't awake to look at him like she thinks he's nuts for talking to a Pokémon.

Pikachu stares up at him, his expression still tired and seemingly not well. His face scrunches, and he curls in deeper on himself, his paws underneath his belly as if he was trying to stop the pain he must be feeling.

If only he could still understand, then Pikachu would be able to tell him where it hurt and just how sick he was feeling. Maybe they wouldn't even have to go to the Pokémon Center.

He feels utterly helpless.

 _It looks like he's not getting any better,_  Tim thinks, and he wishes it was the opposite.  _Maybe we should go to the Pokémon Center._

But maybe there's also a better way he can help.

Sighing and running a hand down his face, Tim makes the awkward decision to call his father; this  _is_  his Pikachu. He would know him best, and he would most likely know how to help him best.

He just has to get past the fact that this is the first time in  _years_ that he'd be calling his father.

xxxx

 _The car races down the road. They're outside, they made it_ —

_He crawls out from the fiery wreck, just barely able to escape the burning flames that shoot out from the car itself. He can't think, he can't breathe—all he knows is that he has to get out of this. He has to get out so he can see his son again. He needs to apologize and make it up for never being there...but maybe he would never get the chance now._

_The world goes dark._

Harry shoots awake, gasping for breath. Glancing around him, he's relieved to find that he's back in his apartment on the couch. Head pounding, he can't help recalling the weird 'flashbacks' from only hours ago.

The more he thinks about what he saw and heard in the images, the more strange it seems.

_"Put down the stapler, or I will electrocute you."_

The word 'electrocute' stands out to him. Why had he threatened to electrocute his own son? How would it even be possible? If he had heard his voice, that had to have been himself talking, and he's pretty sure he doesn't have the power to electrocute people like a Pokémon would.

_"Then how do you know you're a detective?"_

Tim's question bounces off his aching head. He  _is_  a detective, so why would Tim ask him that? Memory loss must have had to do with it if he didn't truly know he was a detective.

_"I'm not here to find my father, I'm here to say goodbye!"_

Tim's words continue to echo. He may not remember anything during the time he'd been blacked out, but he knows  _something_  must have happened that had caused him to black out for a time.

Tim had thought that he was dead during that time, and he can't imagine what his son must have been going through on his own.

Harry sighs, his apartment coming into focus the more he concentrates. He needs to get up from the couch.

Wait...the couch? Shaking his head in a slight daze, he realizes that he must have fallen asleep after his stomach stopped hurting and he'd cleaned the coffee spill off his desk.

Once his head clears, he remembers in a panic that he has a meeting scheduled with Lieutenant Yoshida in about five minutes, and he hasn't even gotten ready yet.

xxxx

Coming back from the dead has its advantages, though Harry doesn't necessarily  _want_  to take advantage of it. Lieutenant Yoshida doesn't even mention being late, and Harry doesn't plan on bringing it up; he'll make sure it won't happen again, anyway.

"How have you been doing, Harry?" Yoshida asks as they walk into his office.

"Fine, just fine," Harry responds, unsure if he sounds just as convinced as he feels, the stomach pains coming to mind. Luckily, it hasn't happened again yet. "Tim went back home today so he can take care of things, and then he's coming back to live with me."

 _Maybe. It's not guaranteed,_  he has to remind himself. He wonders if this is how it would have felt if younger Tim had agreed to stay with him. Would he have eventually tried to go back home?

"He was so sure you were still alive, especially when he found your partner," Yoshida says as he sits down into his chair.

Snubbull stares him down, which leaves Harry a bit confused. He's never been on the Pokémon's bad side...right? At least, he doesn't think so. Snubbull leans closer to sniff at him. If that's all he wants, then Harry doesn't mind. He probably smells the coffee spill, that's all. Or maybe he smells Pikachu.

After he's had a good sniff, Snubbull returns to sit by Yoshida's side, scooting close to his human partner as if to protect him from something.

Harry nods as he sits in the chair across from Yoshida, taking his gaze off of Snubbull.

"Right. Pikachu."

Giving his partner the opportunity to go with Tim was worth it, especially when he saw the excited look on Tim's face.

"Where is your partner now?" Yoshida asks. He bends to the side of his desk, eyes searching near Harry's feet where he normally sees the small detective if he wasn't on his shoulders.

"I let Tim take him home, but they'll be back soon," Harry answers firmly as if to assure himself that it's true Tim was going to come back.

It's strange not having his partner next to him, but he's glad he allowed Tim to take his partner for the time being, just so the Pokémon can watch out for his son while he's not with him. It was only a short trip, but Harry feels much better knowing that someone he trusts is taking care of his son when he can't be there.

The office grows quiet enough that Snubbull's light growling can be easily heard. Harry stares back at him, refusing to give in, and Snubbull finally blinks in confusion at the staring contest, looking away and down at the floor.

"We found something I think you should see. You said you wanted help remembering what happened," Yoshida says, breaking Harry out of his concentration.

Harry nods again, not exactly sure how to feel about the first piece of information relating to his disappearance. All he knows is that one minute he was in his car, and the next...maybe his nightmare was a clue.

He's thankful that Yoshida had taken the time to honor his request. Maybe it would help him remember, or at least fill him in on what he doesn't.

Yoshida gets up from his desk to move towards the television he always has in his office.

"This was originally a hologram built into Clifford's wheelchair, but it's been converted for easier viewing."

Howard Clifford, the man who had caused all the trouble.

Yoshida points to the screen, lifting the remote.

"It doesn't play the whole thing, but we're still able to see a small clip. We have the original footage, but this is another side of it I never expected to see. I thought it would be best for you to see this part first."

The screen flickers to life, though it's probably not as clear as it would have been while still in Howard's chair.

The first thing Harry doesn't expect to see is himself crawling on harsh ground, and his Pikachu falling next to him in the wake of a car burning on fire.

Harry stares, eyes growing wider by the minute. He'd...he'd been in a crash? With Pikachu? He can't even remember Pikachu being in the car with him. Why did he wake up in his apartment and not the hospital? Had he really come out that unscathed? It certainly doesn't seem like it in the video, his body lying face down and barely able to move.

"Pika," Pikachu whines, desperately shaking his still form's shoulders. Harry's heart hurts at the sound of his pitiful cry trying to get him to wake, but he doesn't.

Instead, another...Pokémon appears, if that's what it could be called. Harry has never seen anything like it before, yet somehow...it feels vaguely familiar.

It reaches a hand out as if to begin doing something to his crying Pikachu, but then the video flickers and turns into static.

Harry can only stare, barely unable to process what he'd just witnessed. It didn't jog his memory like he hoped it would, but it did bring up more questions.

"What did the original footage show?" he asks, almost afraid to know the answer—but he  _needs_  to know.

"The car went over. It wasn't a very good angle and hard to see, but what we did see made it hard for us to believe anyone might have lived."

"What do you think happened after...that?" he asks, still staring with wide eyes at the screen.

 _It was just...it was just like my nightmare. How is that even possible?_ Harry thinks as he realizes that what he had just dreamed had been on the screen. He doubts it was just coincidence; his memory must be slowly returning.

"All I know is that you're back, and we're all thankful we didn't really lose you," Yoshida says gratefully with a small smile. "I should have listened to Tim. Maybe your partner was proof enough that you were still alive, after all."

Harry smiles in return. He hadn't even known he'd been presumed dead, yet he suddenly feels as if he's been away from his job for far too long, and it's nice to be back.

His mind wanders to the mysterious... _thing_  they'd seen. Why had it seemed so familiar, and what had it been doing to his Pikachu?

"What if that Pokémon is still out there?"

"If that's the case, we need to find and contain it. The man may need help, but he has no reason to lie about a wild Pokémon on the loose, especially when he has proof like this. We don't need another mess in the city to clean up," Yoshida answers.

Howard Clifford had done enough.

Harry makes a decision that no matter what, he was going to find that Pokémon and put a stop to it. Maybe on the way, he can find some more answers about what had happened to him and Pikachu in the crash.

"Where did the crash happen?"

Yoshida gives him directions, despite however reluctant he might be about letting Harry go to the place where he had crashed, but he insists.

He's offered to have someone go with him, but he declines.

He has to do this alone; he needs to check it out.

He needs answers.

xxxx

On his way out of the police department, his phone rings.

"Dad?" Tim's voice says on the other end, and Harry's stomach lurches.

He'd only just gotten his son back, and now he was receiving calls from him, too? It's...certainly unexpected, but definitely something he could get used to. He shouldn't be so surprised by the sound of his son's voice on the other end. But in all the years they'd been separated, he had never called Tim, and Tim had never called him. If he ever did attempt to make a call, normally Tim would not answer, leaving it up to his grandparents to do the talking.

"Uh, hey, kid," he says in an attempt to distract himself from the shock of his calling son, wishing desperately that he could stop feeling so awkward whenever he was talking to his son over the phone or when he was simply with him in person.

Harry doubts that Tim is actually even home yet, wondering what could be another reason he might be calling. It's because he misses his father already, right?

"Pikachu isn't really feeling that great."

Oh. What had he been hoping for, that Tim had called so soon just to talk to him?

"What's the matter?" he asks, genuine concern running through him at the thought of his Pikachu. Well, he knows how that feels. He hopes it isn't anything too serious...

"He was fine when we got on the train, but then he started feeling sick. I was thinking you might know him better than I do," Tim explains.

 _He's your partner. Not mine,_  he thinks to himself on the other end of the line.

"It's possible he might have eaten something bad," Harry suggests, thinking back to earlier that morning when he'd had the bad stomach pain, though he's honestly not really sure. His Pikachu was curious, yes, but he didn't just pick up things off the ground and eat them. He was very well-behaved. Harry can almost see Tim shaking his head as he disagrees with the idea, as well.

"I don't think so. He just looks sick, like he doesn't feel good. I was thinking about taking him to the Pokémon Center at home."

Harry doesn't know how he can help his son there. His Pikachu had always been a healthy Pokémon that rarely ever got sick, if at all. If he did, the sickness never lasted long. Maybe the Pokémon Center was a good idea if it lasted longer than normal, but Harry can only shrug to himself.

"He'll get better soon. I can feel it...in my jellies."

He stops in his tracks, the color draining from his face as he realizes what he'd just said.

Did he really just say that? Where had it come from? Maybe it had just crossed his mind because of what he'd heard in the weird flashback...

There's an unnaturally long pause on Tim's end before he finally says something that Harry hadn't expected so soon.

"...I gotta go, Dad. We're almost there. I'm going to take him to the Pokémon Center."

Tim hangs up before he can respond.

Harry can only stand in place, wondering what had gone wrong.

_Was it something I said?_

Could it have been the 'jelly' thing? Why would Tim get upset over him saying such a dumb word?

He only just got his son back, and now he was risking losing him again just because he'd said something stupid.

 _Don't mess this up, don't mess this up,_  his mind races, his heart pounding.

He does his best to get his mind off of ruining everything to focus on the most important task at hand: finding that Pokémon. What if it was the reason Pikachu was feeling sick?

It doesn't matter that he's not starting to feel that great himself once again, the queasy feeling returning to his stomach.

xxxx

He needs time.

He needs time to recover from being captured once again, from being tortured and held against his will...

But something isn't right.

He can't quite place it; his mind is still too weak from the abuse, from being taken over by a human.

His powers are still dull, weak from undoing the damage that Howard Clifford had caused in the city.

He needs time to recover, because even the most powerful Pokémon known to mankind needs to rest and regain his strength.

Yet still, he can't place the nagging thought deep in the back of his healing mind.

His body relaxes, but his mind remains restless.

_Something isn't right._


	3. Chapter 3

The train stops at last, and Tim can finally release a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding; what his father had said prior to him hanging up left him in a daze that he can't seem to get out of.

 _"I can feel it...in my jellies,"_  he'd said, and Tim had done the only reasonable thing he could think of in response: hang up. He feels slightly guilty, but otherwise he would have been absolutely frozen. Hanging up was the next best thing. He can always call his father again later to make up for it.

The more Tim thinks about it, the more it begins to make sense that maybe he should at least  _try_  talking to his father about what happened; maybe it would jog more of his memories. But Tim isn't exactly sure he  _wants_  his father to remember. It still wouldn't be the same—he wouldn't get his partner back. He still wouldn't remember most likely, and he'd still be 'stuck' as a human. He shakes his head lightly to himself, forcing himself to push the horrible thought away.

His father is a human, not a Pokémon, and that's how it was always supposed to be.

He steps off the train carefully so he won't risk falling and losing Pikachu in his arms, which would only make the situation worse. The lady who had been sitting across from him exits as well, giving him not a  _you're crazy_  kind of stare, but more of a worried look that 'his' Pikachu's condition doesn't seem to be much better.

He's just thankful they're not stuck in another Torterra garden where help would be miles away. Mewtwo is probably long gone by now, and Tim isn't so sure that the psychic would be willing to help again. He already had so many times, and he'd even saved his father from dying a second time after being hit by that rock.

Tim keeps a gentle grip on Pikachu so he won't risk hurting him any further. The Pokémon is still awake, but only barely. It seems as if he's tired, yet still too uncomfortable to actually close his eyes and rest.

"You'll get better soon," Tim says softly. "I promise."

But  _should_  he promise? Pikachu's sickness can't be that bad yet. He can't think like that.

"Tim?" a voice startles him out of his thoughts. It's a familiar voice, and Tim glances to the side to see someone he doesn't expect.

Someone who was supposed to be long gone by now, just like Mewtwo.

"Jack? What are you still doing here?" Tim asks, incredulous. Is he just seeing things?

"I was about to ask you the same question," Jack answers, stepping closer.

"You first," Tim says, and he can't stop a smile that's starting to spread. After everything that happened, it's good to see him again.

"Well, I had a plan, but then...it all kind of fell apart. Sometimes things just don't work out and you have to go back to the beginning. I'm actually on the way home from another job interview. What are  _you_  still doing here, I thought you went to Ryme City to..."

Tim's smile falters at Jack's news.

 _You gotta do what's best for you with the time that you got,_ he can recall himself saying before he'd left home.

He feels bad that Jack is still stuck here when he originally had big plans, but he guesses that's just how life works out sometimes, and Jack was taking it all in stride.

Jack's eyes land on the Pokémon carefully being held in his friend's arms.

"A Pikachu? You actually caught him? What's with the cute little hat?" the string of questions come forth, and Tim breaks the silence that follows while Jack waits for him to answer.

"Go on. Just say it," he says.

 _I'm too tired to be angry,_  he remembers himself saying the last time.

"Say what?" Jack asks, looking genuinely confused, but Tim knows better.

"Remember last time with the Cubone? Lonely? Any more emotional truths you want to lay on me?" he tries to help Jack remember.

"Oh. I was just going to say I never imagined an electric type for you. It seems...right."

Of course Jack would agree that the one Pokémon that he can't really have is  _right_  for him.

He glares, though he can't help but agree. A Pikachu  _would_  be perfect, but...it just wouldn't be the same.

"No, really, a Pikachu is perfect," Jack does his best to defend himself. "You have more in common than you think, especially when you get annoyed with me. The only difference is that you don't have red pouches on your cheeks that store electricity, and it's probably for the best."

Sighing and trying not to laugh, he shakes his head lightly and does his best to explain himself. "I didn't catch him. He's not actually mine, he's...he's my dad's."

He's his father's, not his own. He doesn't have a partner anymore, and the more the realization sinks in, the more Tim feels not too far off from feeling the same as Cubone. Lonely. Maybe they had more in common than he originally thought...

"You talked to your dad?" Jack asks, eyes widening. He's always known about their strained relationship, because he hadn't minded Tim complaining to him whenever he had the chance. He's  _also_  always been the kind of friend who was a really good listener, just letting him go on and on.

"I'm actually going to live with him," Tim says, a small smile beginning to form. "I just need to take care of a few things, first."

"Isn't he...dead?" Jack asks, bewildered and unsure if he should even bring the topic up. The last time he'd heard anything about Harry was when Tim had received those five voicemails from the police department about his death. It definitely hadn't really been a good send off when, at the time, he had still been planning on leaving and starting a new life somewhere else. Jack hadn't known back then that he would end up right back where he started.

Tim is surprised that the news of his father's case hasn't been updated that he'd been found alive and well. It occurs to him that most reporters don't know the actual truth like Lucy does, and he never even had to ask her to be respectful and keep him out of the news.

Other reporters and news stations hadn't bothered to ask, because they still didn't know that Harry Goodman was alive and well, and it was all thanks to his Pokémon partner and Mewtwo. Tim can hardly imagine trying to explain what happened to his own father, but the news?

"It's a long story," Tim does his best to explain so they can just get the conversation over with—he has to get Pikachu to the Pokémon Center!

"I totally have time," Jack says with an eager grin. "Otherwise I'd just be looking for more boring job offers. This definitely sounds more interesting."

Tim hesitates for a moment. He wonders if he should at least try telling Jack about what had happened between him and his father; what  _really_  happened. Deep down he wants to. It would be nice to get it off of his chest. His father doesn't remember anything, so how could he talk about it with him? Jack was always open to crazy ideas, maybe he would understand the concept of mind-merging.

He glances down at Pikachu, and the yellow Pokémon still doesn't look that great.

"Chu..." Pikachu whispers weakly, staring back up at Tim. He might be very tired, but his droopy eyes are equally as trusting, and Tim doesn't plan on breaking that trust anytime soon. They have to get help.

"Actually, I don't...have time, I mean," he tells Jack, and his friend seems to finally take notice that something is off. He leans a little closer so he can get a better look at Pikachu.

Tim holds the electric mouse a little tighter as if to protect him, but he understands Jack doesn't mean any harm.

"What's wrong?" Jack asks, his expression becoming just as concerned.

"I don't know," Tim answers, unable to take his eyes off of Pikachu. The more time they waste talking, the more sick he was most likely going to get. "He was fine earlier, but then he just started feeling sick. We have to get him to the Pokémon Center."

Tim starts to move straight ahead.

"Hey, uh..."

He turns around with a sigh. They have to hurry. They don't have time to stand around and wait while Pikachu is getting worse!

"The Pokémon Center is that way," Jack answers his mental question, pointing in the other direction.

Tim nods, exasperated. They still have to get out of the train station.

 _Of course,_  he thinks. He may have been somewhat of a Pokémon expert when he was younger, but he had never gotten the chance to have his own starter since his mother passed on. He had never had his own Pokémon at all, so it was understandable that he wouldn't know where to find the Pokémon Center in his own hometown.

"I knew that," he says without trying to look too awkward about it.

"Come on, I'll show you," Jack says, doing his best not to laugh. He concentrates instead on the Pikachu in Tim's arms, and how he needs their help. "It's not too far from this station, actually."

"Hold on..." Tim encourages Pikachu. He places a hand as gently as he can on his chest to let him know that he'll be okay, and his heart warms over when Pikachu's tiny paw barely manages to grip his hand in return, as if he'd understood what Tim was trying to tell him.

xxxx

The Pokémon Center is empty, though it's not really a surprise to Tim. His town is small and while they weren't necessarily illegal like in Ryme City, Pokémon battles rarely took place.  

It was perfect for sick Pokémon who were in a situation like Pikachu's.

The first thing he notices when he enters is the quiet music playing that sounds like a lullaby for kids, or elevator music.

He stands at the front desk with Pikachu still in his arms, Jack sitting in a chair and waiting patiently.

"Name, please?" Nurse Joy asks from behind the counter, entering the information quickly into a computer.

"Tim Goodman," he answers. 

She looks at Pikachu from over the counter, checking for any signs of recent injuries.

"Was he in a battle recently?" Nurse Joy asks when she finds none.

Other than the fact that he's still amazed his father's Pikachu had beaten a Charizard and left him with a scar on his face, Tim shakes his head in response.

"No. He just started feeling sick and hasn't gotten better yet. I think his stomach hurts."

Nurse Joy glances at Pikachu, her gentle expression becoming just as concerned as his. The sound of rolling wheels approach, and Tim turns away from the desk to see two Chansey bringing a stretcher to them.

"His hat will need to come off, please, though it does look very adorable. What a cute little detective!" Nurse Joy gushes with a bright smile. If Pikachu wasn't feeling so sick, she would probably pick him up and squeeze him so tight his bones would pop.

Tim slowly removes Pikachu's hat, and Nurse Joy nods at the stretcher. Just as reluctantly, Tim lays Pikachu down on the bed as carefully as he can without causing him any pain.

Pikachu's tiredness finally gets the better of him, and his eyes slide closed now that he knows he's safe. Tim is glad they made it in time. He glances at Nurse Joy, inwardly telling her to  _please hurry._

"Not to worry. Your Pikachu is in good hands," Nurse Joy says to assure Tim, though he's not exactly sure that's how he feels. "We'll begin the treatment he needs right away."

He wonders how many times he'll have to convince people that Pikachu is not his own; maybe as many times that he has to convince himself.

"Is it bad?" Tim has to ask, unsure if she's able to tell right away what could be happening.

"We'll do our best to figure out what's wrong," she answers, determined, and then she nods towards the two pink Pokémon.

They both squeak at the same time.

"Chansey!"

The Pokémon and Nurse Joy begin to roll the stretcher into the back hallway, and Tim is left in the waiting room with Jack. Holding Pikachu's detective hat close to his chest, he notices that above the closed hallway door, there's a sign with a needle. It's not glowing red yet, so Tim can only assume that Nurse Joy is just trying to figure out Pikachu's condition like she promised.

 _It's not critical yet,_  he attempts to reassure himself.  _Pikachu is going to be okay. He has to._

He can't watch him nearly-die once again.

Sighing, he doesn't really have any other choice but to sit down next to his friend and wait.

"You can go if you want. It might be a while," Tim tells him.

"It's fine, really," Jack says.

Tim is glad he wants to stay, and doesn't argue. Jack has always been a good friend, always there for him and now Pikachu.

They both sit together in silence. Having been friends for so long, silence is never awkward, though Tim wishes he could say more and tell Jack the story of what happened between him and his father. He just doesn't know how to explain it, so he remains sitting in the silence other than the quiet elevator kind of music playing overhead.

Was it just him, or did the song keep repeating? Did it play in all Pokémon Centers? Maybe if he had gotten his own Pokémon long ago, he would know. But this is his first time inside one, and he doesn't like the fact it's because Pikachu is feeling so sick.

Jack must have noticed how anxious he is, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. He's going to be okay. It can't be anything too serious."

Tim does his best to smile, but it's strained.

Jack doesn't pressure him despite how curious he was about the 'long story' before, and he's thankful that he understands he's not ready to talk about it yet. Tim isn't sure if he ever will be.

He doesn't realize how many hours have passed until the sky outside the center's windows grows darker. He was supposed to be at his grandma's house by now, and he realizes that he should probably give her a call to let her know he's okay.

But before he can pull out his phone, Jack nudges his shoulder and gestures towards the hallway where Pikachu had been taken.

His heart drops into his stomach.

The needle sign above the closed hallway door had turned red.

xxxx

"I want to be the very best, like no one ever was. To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause..."

 _Where have I heard that song before?_  Harry can't help but wonder when he catches himself quietly singing in the car. More importantly, why does it make him feel like he wants to start crying his eyes out?

He'd followed Yoshida's directions...only to end up in the middle of nowhere. He can't tell if this is the right place, but parks the car on the side of the road, anyway.

There's definitely something... _familiar_  about this area.

Harry gets out of the car and shuts the door. He walks forward, however uncertain he might be that this is the right place Yoshida had given him directions to.

Just ahead, a bridge comes into view.

"What...?" Harry murmurs quietly to himself, stopping in his tracks.

The ghostly image of another car swoops overhead.

It...it seems familiar.  _Very_  familiar. He can feel it deep within his gut that he's been here once before, and not under great circumstances. He follows the car's ghost down to where it crashes underneath the bridge.

 _The original footage Yoshida was talking about,_  Harry thinks.  _The car went over the bridge and crashed._

 _How...how could I have survived something like that?_  Harry wonders in a fearful kind of awe when he reaches the bottom area of the bridge and the car's ghost explodes, then disappears.  _How could Pikachu have survived something like that?_

But something is missing. How did the car go over?

Harry blinks in a slight daze, placing a hand over his head that's starting to ache as he processes all of this new information. He shivers as a cool breeze passes by. The trees in the surrounding forest wave along with the gentle wind.

Wait...forest...

More images begin to flash in his mind without warning.

_The forest is moving in a way that's so unnatural, it makes his head start to spin. It's actually moving, coming straight at the four of them. The four of them being what seems like himself, Tim, Lucy, and...a yellow Pokémon?_

Harry stumbles backwards but manages to catch himself, his breathing picking up as the images materialize to their fullest as if a hologram had been activated.

 _No, no, no. Not again. Not here..._ Harry's mind races, trying as hard as he can to pull himself back under control...but it's no use.

The images are stronger, and he has no choice but to allow them to happen as they come.

_"Don't worry. None of this is real."_

Harry can only wish that were true. These flashbacks can't be real, they just can't. But something deep inside tells him that they  _are,_ that they had actually happened at some point in his life. He wanted answers and how he was getting them, no matter how strangely they seemed to be coming. As nervous as these so-called 'flashbacks' make him, he attempts to concentrate on what's happening inside them in the hope that it would help them go away.

It's that yellow blob with his voice again...

_"All of this is real! Run!"_

_"Go!"_

It's Tim again, and he thinks he can see Lucy next to him. 

The flashback's point of view suddenly switches.

_"I get it now, this isn't a forest at all. This is the Torterra garden!"_

_He turns to see a...rock? A rock tumbling dangerously in his direction._

_The rock smashes directly into his body_ —

The pain that suddenly stabs his stomach in response to the sharp force is too much, and this time it doesn't subside. It only gets worse, forcing him to fall to the harsh, dirt ground under the bridge.

Harry fights to the best of his ability to stay awake, to not give into the enveloping darkness.

He has to get out of this again...he has to...but he  _can't._ Maybe he really should have gone to see a doctor.

"Tim..." Harry barely manages to choke out. He should have listened to Yoshida. It had been a bad idea to come here, especially alone.

For the second time since he'd crashed, the world goes dark around him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Nothing is wrong with your Pikachu."

Tim blinks, confusion washing over him at Nurse Joy's words. He should be feeling relieved, but something is telling him they aren't out of the woods yet.

"What?" he asks, just to be sure he'd heard right. The needle sign had been glowing  _red._ Didn't that mean something was wrong?

"I'm sorry for scaring you," Nurse Joy apologizes, "but while nothing seems out of the ordinary, your Pikachu just seems to be very tired. He's currently trying to rest."

Tim doesn't even bother trying to correct her by letting her know that this Pikachu isn't his. He's given up on that by now, coming to the conclusion that maybe, he can at least  _fake_  that Pikachu belongs to him.

"But what's wrong? Did you find anything?" he questions, close to demanding, but he knows it's no use if not even Nurse Joy can figure out Pikachu's sickness. None of this seems right...something is still off, and he can feel it.

Nurse Joy is happy to explain, glancing in Pikachu's direction through the glass window as the three of them, including Jack, stand in the hallway. Tim follows her gaze, eyes landing on his father's Pikachu resting in bed. The electric mouse hasn't woken yet from when he'd fallen asleep on the way inside to start his treatment, whatever that was. He isn't even hooked up to any wires, and he's not covered in any bandages. He just seems to be in a very deep sleep, resting underneath a blanket that Nurse Joy must have given him.

According to Nurse Joy, Pikachu is perfectly fine.

"No electrical overcharging. No fever. He isn't dehydrated, and his vitals are just fine. His heart rate is normal."

Nurse Joy shakes her head, expression furrowing in confusion as she keeps a close eye on the Pokémon lying in the bed.

"Everything seems to be normal," she explains to the best of her ability. "I've never seen something like this. Sometimes Pokémon fake being sick to get attention from their trainers, and we find out that everything is fine. Other times, a Pokémon can be good at hiding the pain they're feeling so they don't worry their trainers, or because they think they don't need help."

Tim wishes that either of those two could be the case for Pikachu, but he has a feeling deep down it isn't. There's something more going on that they just can't see yet, and more than anything, he wants to know what that something is so Pikachu can feel better again. He also notices how Nurse Joy uses the word 'trainer' and not partner, like almost everyone in Ryme City did. He has to remind himself that not everywhere else is the same as Ryme City.

"Pikachu is in some discomfort and that discomfort can be easily seen, but..."

"You can't find the source of the problem," Tim finishes for her.

Nurse Joy shakes her head regretfully, and Tim can tell she's beating herself up over it, but trying to remain professional. He can't imagine how hard it must be on her to have a Pokémon in her care that she possibly can't help, no matter how much he wishes it's the opposite.

How is that even possible? Just looking at Pikachu, he seems to be restless, even in his slumber. He's shaking now underneath the blanket Nurse Joy had given him, and Tim is no longer sure if it's just because he's having another nightmare, or if he still just doesn't feel that great. There has to be something more to it...

"I'm very sorry," Nurse Joy apologizes again. "It's recommended that Pikachu stays overnight and possibly a few days so we can make sure he receives the care he needs should anything change."

Tim agrees, nodding at her suggestion. He still has to go to his grandma's house and tell her about everything that happened. It wouldn't do any good if Pikachu went with him and he got worse.

"He could just be tired from the day's events," Nurse Joy suggests.

Tim shakes his head in disagreement. "All we've done today is get on the train."

They hadn't done anything before that...right? He had woken up, gotten ready for the day, and then sat on his childhood bed with Pikachu. The Pokémon hadn't had time to do anything else except get on the train with him when Harry suggested the idea that he go along, and Tim is starting to regret agreeing to it. If he can't even take care of a Pikachu for a day—a  _normal_  Pikachu that didn't have his father's soul inside of him—then how could he ever take on the responsibility of having his own partner?

"He could just be feeling nauseous from the train ride," Jack throws in, causing Tim to pause for a moment as he thinks it over.

That makes a little bit of sense. Pikachu had been fine before the train started moving, but once it did...that was another story.

But wouldn't it have worn off by now? Tim continues to stare at Pikachu, realizing that after all this time, he still hasn't...

"Is he going to wake up?" Tim can't help but ask, preparing to hear the worst.

Nurse Joy gives him a reassuring smile, though Tim isn't sure that it's currently how he feels. "He is simply resting. His body will take care of the rest and hopefully, he will wake up soon."

Hopefully. Tim wishes she hadn't used that word, making it sound like Pikachu waking up isn't guaranteed. She probably hadn't realized how she made it sound. It can't be that bad, it can't...

He places his hand on the glass window, his palm covering the little yellow shape inside the room.

"Can I see him?"

Nurse Joy nods slightly.

"I'll be in the waiting room," Jack says, stepping to the side to allow Tim to go in to see Pikachu.

He sits in a chair near the hospital bed, keeping a tight grip on the detective hat in his hands. He wants to place it back where it belongs but for Pikachu's safety, decides against it.

"Pikachu...what's wrong?" he asks, desperate. If only his father hadn't suggested bringing him along, maybe he would be fine right now. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten sick at all. Tim instantly shakes the thought away; he can't blame Harry for this.

 _You can tell me,_  he wants to say, but he knows it's no use. He can't understand Pikachu anymore, no matter how much he doesn't want to admit it.

No answer, as expected. Pikachu only continues to shiver in his sleep, eyes shut tight, and Tim wonders how it's possible that he's showing obvious signs of pain, but nothing is wrong as Nurse Joy had said.

"I have to go to Grandma's house," he lets Pikachu know anyway. He and Pikachu may not be able to understand each other any longer, but it still didn't hurt to pretend. Maybe Pikachu can somehow hear him in his sleep...

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

xxxx

"Is everything alright?" Grandma asks when he arrives. She's always quick to notice when something is wrong, and Tim is tempted to just hug her even tighter and let everything he'd been holding in  _out,_  but he restrains himself.

"Dad's Pikachu is sick," he murmurs into her arms. "I took him to the Pokémon Center today, I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner."

"It's alright, don't you worry about it. Pikachu had to stay there for tonight?" she asks, pulling away from the hug. Tim nods.

"Maybe longer, depending on how he feels. Where's Grandpa?"

"Already asleep," she answers, gesturing upstairs.

"Oh. I didn't wake you up, did I?" Tim asks, a bit guilty that he hadn't been more quiet coming in.

"Not at all," she reassures him gently. "I was just reading about the cutest Pokémon again. I'm going to miss them now that dear Lucy is moving on to bigger things."

Tim laughs quietly. His grandmother hasn't met Lucy in person yet, but he'd told her about the girl he'd met on his journey to find Harry, and if everything went well that she might be...the one? He'd already admitted it to Ditto. Grandma was more than ecstatic to find out that she was the reporter of her favorite Pokémon blog listicles.

"How's your father?" she asks, now unafraid to bring up the topic.

"He's great, Grandma. He really is," Tim responds with a genuine smile. Smiling about his father...he never would have thought it was possible.

"I'm so proud of you, dear," she says fondly, smiling wide in return. "You're both trying."

Harry had always been trying; Tim had just been too stubborn to see that.

"I...I just have to get some things packed and ready so Pikachu and I can go back after I take care of my job tomorrow," he explains.

Because Pikachu was going to get well enough so he could travel again, Tim just knows it. He can  _feel_  that Pikachu is going to get better...or is it just false hope?

No.

"We both should get some rest," she suggests, and he agrees.

He goes up the stairs quietly as he can so as not to disturb Grandpa.

His room is completely different than what it had been when he was just a child. The Pikachu ears are gone and all of the posters, too.

It seems more...barren, especially now that he'd had the chance to revisit his childhood room in the form of Harry's spitting image. He wonders in the back of his mind what Detective Pikachu would say about his bed, since this version has no Pikachu ears that would creep him out, yet flatter him at the same time.

He'd probably call it boring without all the Pokémon stuff, and Tim laughs quietly to himself at the thought.

Eager to distract himself from Pikachu's sickness that can't seem to be solved right away, he begins to pack his things to keep his mind off of it.

He can't bring himself to fall asleep until it's nearly light out already and he only gets about an hour of real sleep.

Literally first thing in the morning, he gets up to go to his old insurance job and say goodbye, looking forward to leaving it all behind so he can start a new one as a detective with his father.

Just like how it was always supposed to be.

But the main reason he hurries is so that he can get back to Pikachu.

xxxx

When he finally reaches the Pokémon Center again, Jack is there waiting.

"I promised him that he would get better soon," Tim says as he and Jack sit together in Pikachu's room. It hasn't been that long since Pikachu first started feeling sick, but Tim has a bad feeling it might not go away as soon as he hoped.

Like he'd promised Pikachu as they got off the train.

"Well...it's not like he can actually understand what you're saying," Jack points out.

Tim frowns slightly. What did it matter that Pokémon couldn't understand actual words? What matters is that they can understand emotions and intention just as well, like Pikachu had told him.

 _You have to be open to the experience,_ he remembers his partner telling him.

"But he knows what we're feeling," Tim says slowly, unable to believe his own ears.

"Where did you hear that?" Jack asks, understandably curious about where he could have heard such a thing.

Is he really going to do this?

"A friend of mine told me in Ryme City. My partner," Tim answers.

Finally let it all out?

"Partner?" Jack asks again. His questions just seem to keep coming and the more he asks, the more confident Tim feels.

There's no way he can keep avoiding it.

Tim holds up Pikachu's detective hat. "You know how he was wearing this?"

Jack nods and before Tim knows it,  _everything_  comes pouring out uncontrollably.

He hadn't realized just how badly he needed to tell someone until now, and he's glad Jack is the first to hear it. His friend listens intently, eager to finally hear the long story that Tim had been talking about, and it's more wild and crazy than he ever could have imagined.

...A talking Pikachu with no memory who was addicted to caffeine? Who turned out to be his  _father,_  and that's why they're talking to each other again after all this time? He's heard crazier things, so it doesn't seem too far-fetched. What's even more crazy is that Tim wants to be a detective now, too.

Jack saves his questions until the end of the story, but something about it had caught his attention.

According to Tim, Pikachu and his father had been merged into one by the most powerful Pokémon in the world: Mewtwo.

"So...your dad doesn't remember anything about being Pikachu?" he asks, and Tim shakes his head in confirmation.

"Nothing," he answers, trying his best not to seem...disappointed. He  _shouldn't_  be.

"And...there didn't seem to be anything wrong with them after that?"

Tim blinks, confused at first. But then he glances at Pikachu again.

It can't be possible, but what if...

"Dad was fine after the whole mind-merging thing. They both were. There weren't any side effects, at least as far as I could tell," Tim says, beginning to understand what Jack is getting at. He's probably just trying to better understand the story, but maybe there's something more...

 _Come on, kid, think like a detective,_  he can almost hear Detective Pikachu.  _I know you have it in you. You've proven that already._

"Pikachu was fine before leaving on the train, but when it started moving...moving  _away_  from my dad, he got sick. This all started when Pikachu came on the train with me. Mewtwo separated them, but...what if they're still connected somehow? What if...Pikachu is feeling whatever Harry is feeling, and it's the other way around, too?"

It strikes him right in the middle of his chest, and he had to stop himself from falling over.

"Jack, you're a genius!" he exclaims, hope beginning to bubble in his chest to replace the shock. If this really is the reason Pikachu is so sick, maybe now they have an even better chance to help him get better. Maybe Jack would make a great detective one day, too.

No wonder Nurse Joy hadn't been able to find anything wrong with Pikachu, because maybe nothing  _had_  been wrong. At least not with Pikachu specifically...

"I am?" Jack asks, very confused by Tim's sudden realization.

"Yes! Don't you see? They can't be apart from each other! They need to be brought back  _together."_

Whether 'together' meant merging into one body again or that they simply need to be in each other's presence for their pain to go away, Tim isn't sure. Despite how crazy it seems, it's starting to make a lot of sense. Why Pikachu was showing signs of pain, but Nurse Joy couldn't find anything wrong...

Pikachu was not feeling his own pain, but someone else's.

His father's.

Harry.

"Well...if Pikachu is feeling so sick, what if Harry is having the same problem because they're...still connected?" Jack asks just to be sure, and Tim's eyes widen.

What if Harry is feeling the same pain as Pikachu, and Pikachu the same as Harry?

If Jack is right, then they need to get Pikachu back to his father right away. Harry hadn't been experiencing anything out of the ordinary before they left on the train as far as he can remember, but neither had Pikachu. As soon as the train started moving, Pikachu began feeling sick. It was very likely that Harry could be experiencing the same pain that Pikachu is feeling now that he was also far away from him.

All Tim knows is that has to call him now and find out if his father is okay, or if this whole theory is crazy—that maybe Pikachu really is just sick and they need to find out another reason why that could be.

Tim still feels bad about hanging up, but he forces himself to push away the awkwardness of calling Harry again so soon.

Since they figured out this new and startling theory that could possibly be affecting both Harry and Pikachu, Tim  _needs_  to know he's okay. If Pikachu's condition says anything about Harry's, it can't be good. Trying to control the shaking in his hands so Jack won't see, Tim pulls out his phone.

"Come on, Dad. Please answer..." Tim begs quietly.

 _I'm sorry I hung up. I didn't mean to. Please pick up,_ he thinks to himself so Jack can't hear.

"Please...don't do this again," he pleads aloud desperately, beginning to become lost in a distant memory.

_He's in his room after a bad day at school._

_It isn't the first time he's tried calling Dad, especially after a bad day at school. He doesn't want to bug Grandma or Grandpa about it; they would only say that things will be better tomorrow, that it would he a new day to start over. It doesn't feel like starting over every time he goes back; more like a different day, but the same things that keep happening._

_Maybe he really should have gone on the train to Ryme City...maybe things would be better there._

_The phone keeps ringing._

_No answer...why isn't he answering?_

_Tim tries to stop the tears from falling but they do anyway, right onto his pillow. All he knows is that he wants his father. He changed his mind, he wants to go with him now!_

_But why does he like being with Pokémon more than his own son?_

_Was it something he did?_

_The young boy wants his father so badly, but he never comes home now that he lives in that place called Ryme City. He's always spending time with Pokémon in his new job._

_The phone still keeps ringing._

_Why doesn't he **ever**  answer?_

_The phone still rings, and he's had enough. He hangs up. If his father wanted to talk to him, he would have answered by now._

_From that moment on, Tim vows to himself that he will never call his father again._

_It's not until years later does he realize—not with any regret—that he's slowly starting to forget what his father's voice sounds like._

_Good._

_He hasn't called him in years, and he's not about to try and call again just so he can remember._

Tim shakes his head to rid himself of the memory.

This isn't the same. Something is wrong. Maybe Harry had just been too busy with detective work for him to answer all that time ago, and Tim hadn't bothered to conclude that may have been the reason he never got a response. Maybe if he had just tried to call again at a later time, Harry really  _would_  have answered.

Tim glances back up at Jack, and his friend knows what he's thinking just by the look he gives him.

Harry's silence and Pikachu's inability to wake confirms that their suspicions about this new theory might be true—that somehow, Pikachu and Harry are still connected to each other.

"He's not answering."


	5. Chapter 5

_Tim is hanging off the edge of a building that's far too high for anyone's own good. He's screaming, but he can't get back up. A brown and white Pokémon—a Ditto disguised as Cubone—is doing its best to knock him off._

_He has only just enough energy to hear the kid yell out his name._

_"Pikachu!" Tim screams desperately from the ledge._

_...Pikachu?_

xxxx

"So...what are we going to do? Nurse Joy said he has to stay here," Jack says, bringing up a good point as they contemplate what to do next. They can't just sit in the Pokémon Center doing nothing while Pikachu gets worse and Nurse Joy had no idea why. She wouldn't be able to help him like they previously thought.

"Who said anything about telling Nurse Joy?" Tim asks innocently as he moves towards Pikachu's bed. The poor Pokémon is still sound asleep, and his shaking hasn't let up. If anything, his shakes seem  _worse._  In the back of his mind, Tim wonders if that means his father is also shaking wherever he is. What if he's alone and cold somewhere, and Pikachu is picking up on it?

"So we're going to steal your dad's Pokémon back? That's a great idea, why didn't I think of that?" Jack says sarcastically, not liking the idea one bit. Of course Pikachu belongs to Tim in some way through his father, but it's still technically stealing. If they were caught taking Pikachu out of the Pokémon Center when he wasn't supposed to leave yet, they could  _both_  get into a lot of trouble.

"It might be the only way, Jack," he responds as he takes extra care to be gentle lifting Pikachu up from the bed, still wrapped in the blanket for comfort.

What was he supposed to tell Nurse Joy? That Pikachu had begged the most powerful Pokémon in the world to save his father after a bad car crash and their minds had been merged, leaving an invisible connection between the two now that they were separated from each other?

She would never allow them to take Pikachu back to Ryme City without a reasonable explanation as to how they could help him get better when there was seemingly nothing wrong in the first place.

"What if it's all just crazy? What if Pikachu just gets worse?" Jack questions, his tone somewhat serious and concerned for Pikachu's well-being. Tim is touched, but remains firm in his decision to get Pikachu out of the Pokémon Center. His father is in Ryme City and that's where they need to get Pikachu if they want him to get better.

"Nurse Joy said nothing is wrong. If this theory is right, it might be the only way to help him. We have to get him to Dad, and I think Dad needs him, too."

They stop when an unexpected shape blocks them from continuing on. Tim looks down to see one of the Chansey standing in front of the open door, refusing to let them pass with a sick Pikachu in his arms; it must have noticed them trying to leave.

Checking outside of the room's window, Tim can't see the other Chansey or Nurse Joy anywhere, which is all the better. Maybe another Pokémon had come in with its trainer and they were distracted, giving them the best chance at leaving without being caught. He looks back to the second. It must have been just bad luck that it noticed them trying to leave.

"Chansey," the pink Pokémon shakes its head, pointing desperately back towards the bed, indicating to Tim that he should put Pikachu back where he needs to be for the time being.

But Tim is just as desperate. If he wants to help Pikachu, he knows he can't just keep him here in the Pokémon Center where he would only get worse. He doesn't know if their theory is even correct, but it's the best chance they have. 

"Please. I think I know how to help him," he says gently, yet firmly enough at the same time.

He makes sure his intent is strong so Chansey can feel his words, just as Detective Pikachu had told him.

_Please let me help him._

The Pokémon blinks, and its expression softens in realization.

"Chansey?" it inquires. Tim isn't sure what it had asked, but he nods anyway, keeping his intentions clear.

_He needs to come with me. I think I can help him._

Chansey hesitates for a moment, glancing at the bed again. Its gaze lands on Pikachu in his arms once more.

Tim holds his breath, certain that the Chansey is going to alert Nurse Joy. Jack is just as quiet, bracing himself to be caught.

But then it steps to the side, allowing them to go through the open door.

"Thank you," Tim breathes gratefully, Jack watching in amazement that the communication between them actually worked.

He'd been right about Pokémon feeling what humans say; no  _wonder_  the Cubone had been so angry when Tim mentioned its late relative.

xxxx

"Thanks for staying with me at the Pokémon Center," Tim tells Jack as they wait in the station. A sense of déjà vu washes over him. It's just like when he had left Harry. Only this time, he hopes that Pikachu isn't going to get any worse when they leave his hometown behind.

Harry is still in Ryme City, and that's where Pikachu needs to go. He'll have to call his grandparents later to explain everything. Then again, maybe not  _everything..._ but just enough so they wouldn't worry about him. He realizes he'd left his packed bags back home, and that he'll have to come back yet  _again_  to get them. But maybe by then, Pikachu and Harry would be all better and  _both_  could come with him so there wouldn't be any issues.

He'd gotten a ticket for the next train that was leaving as soon as possible.

"I hope it works out," Jack says, and Tim nods.

"Me too..."

He's not sure what he'll do if it doesn't. He's not sure what will happen when Nurse Joy notices they're gone, either. Maybe she would call the police, and they would come to find him for 'stealing' a sick Pokémon. Or maybe Chansey would somehow convince her to let them go. Either way, he hopes Yoshida will go easy on them this time.

All he knows is that he has to get Pikachu to Harry and maybe then, everything will be okay. Nothing else matters.

"Jack?" Tim says when the train begins to stop for them to get on.

He turns back around, waiting. Tim smiles.

"Thanks for listening, too."

Jack simply smiles back and nods, turning around to go home and leave Tim and Pikachu to their goal of reuniting him with his father.

xxxx

One voicemail as they get on the train; nothing compared to the five that he'd received when he'd first learned about Harry's death, since he hadn't been so far away from service like when he and Jack had gone looking for the Cubone.

Tim listens as he takes his seat on the train with Pikachu still safe in his free arm while the other holds the phone, Lieutenant Yoshida's words reaching his ears, but not really coming as a shock.

Just like how Pikachu had to be taken to the Pokémon Center, his father is in the Ryme City hospital and not waking up.

xxxx

Thankfully Yoshida is already there, so he hadn't needed to do too much convincing for the hospital to let him bring Pikachu inside.

The Pokémon  _is_  his partner, and they both need each other. He doesn't have to explain any more than that.

Yoshida leads them to Harry's room and as they get closer, Tim notices that the shaking in his arms has stopped. Glancing down, he can see that Pikachu has gone still, but not in a bad kind of way.

He's finally relaxing, his tense body loosening, and Tim can only assume it's because they're getting closer to his father.

It's working, it's actually  _working..._

Tim keeps his gaze trained on Pikachu until they reach Harry's room at last, and he gasps quietly when the Pokémon's eyes flutter open as they stand by the door before going in.

"Hey, bu—"

He immediately stops himself, catching what he had been about to say.

Looking up, Harry's still and sleeping form lying on the hospital bed begins to shift. His eyes flutter open now too, only further confirming the crazy theory that somehow, he and Pikachu are still connected.

"Pika..." Pikachu squirms in Tim's arms and he gets the message, moving slowly towards his father's bed. Gently, Pikachu manages to get himself out of his blanket, crawling as softly as he can over Harry's weak form.

Harry shudders, but then his body relaxes as if a heavy weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. Pikachu huddles ever closer until he's right in the middle of Harry's chest, curling into a ball with his tail wrapped around his tiny body. Harry closes his eyes in relief, reaching up to wrap an arm around his partner.

Yoshida is relieved to see the detective finally awake, amazed that he'd woken so soon upon his partner's contact when they had originally thought his condition to be worse.

"I'll get the doctor," the lieutenant tells Tim, but he shakes his head. Pikachu and his father need to be alone for a moment.

Yoshida softens, agreeing without saying a word. He leaves the three of them in the hospital room to make sure they won't be disturbed.

It's just the three of them, and the silence is deafening. Tim takes a seat next to the bed like he had done with Pikachu as a kind of distraction, but it doesn't last long.

Harry opens his eyes again, and Tim can tell he knows. He can  _feel_  the connection between himself and Pikachu now, more than aware that something indescribable had happened between them.

"Tim... _please,"_ he rasps quietly to his son, his voice nothing more than a pitiful beg that makes Tim's heart clench in guilt. He hadn't meant to cause his father so much pain. This is all  _his_  fault. "Tell me what happened. What  _really_  happened."

He should have told his father right from the very start instead of keeping it from him after all this time. Holding back the truth had done more harm than good in the end to both Harry  _and_  Pikachu, and Tim can see that now. If he had told his father beforehand, he wouldn't have gone looking for answers by himself and gotten hurt.

Just like with Jack, there's no way he can avoid keeping the truth from his father.

He'd told bits and pieces of his story to Harry about finding him, including his Grandma, only leaving out the parts that had anything to do with Pikachu. If they did, he'd make it so that Pikachu was never there in the first place. He'd told them about Lucy instead, being sure to leave out his partner.

He takes a deep breath, doing his best to pretend that it's just his friend he's talking with again.

To Harry, Tim and Lucy had gone to the lab where the Pokémon had been experimented on, but that's all they had found. They never had the heart-to-heart outside of the police department, crying together over Harry's loss and Pikachu comforting him that he would be proud, that it had never been his fault not getting on the train.

They never got into Ditto's bad guy car to meet Howard, discovering at least a part of the truth of his disappearance. They never found the holograms that showed Harry going to find Mewtwo, and the Torterra garden never happened—at least not the part where a rock had struck him right in his belly and  _that's_  probably why he's been feeling phantom pains there and they were seeping into Pikachu, too.

Mewtwo never healed him, trying to show them the truth only to be captured again; Tim had simply traveled with a herd of Bulbasaur on his own. Pikachu had never left Tim alone after assuming that he'd betrayed his father, giving him a nasty shock. Tim and Lucy had gone right back to the city.

He had never fought against Howard while the man was in control of Mewtwo's body. The powerful Pokémon had never shown the two of them what really,  _truly_  happened in the car crash, that if it hadn't been for his Pikachu begging to save his life, their minds never would have been merged and he would have passed on.

In fact, Harry can't even remember Tim revealing just  _how_  exactly he had been found, or why he'd woken up in his apartment with his son and Pikachu staring at him with worried yet relieved expressions.

Now it all makes sense. So  _that's_  what Tim meant when he had asked him if he remembered anything 'weird' before he'd left to go home.

When it's all over, Harry turns his head away, squeezing his eyes shut once more. So  _this_  is the only reason why Tim is talking to him again...not because he  _wanted_  to be with his father for seemingly no reason other than to reconcile out of the blue, but because he'd done and said things as a Pikachu that couldn't even remember who he was as a human. It had been easier for Tim that way, but now that he was back to normal...

Harry knew it was too good to be true. Tim still probably doesn't want anything to do with him; he just wants to stay in Ryme City with his father because he's reminded of a friend that he lost when he changed back to normal.

Tim just wants his partner back.

"Dad, I...it's not what you think..." Tim wants to comfort his father that he understands it had really been  _him_  speaking through Pikachu the whole time, and not just Pikachu himself.

He isn't talking to him again just because someone else had convinced him to, but because Harry  _himself_  had spoken directly from his heart, regardless of the fact that he'd been saying those things through the body of a talking, amnesiac Pikachu. He's talking to his father again because he  _does_  want to stay with him in Ryme City of his own accord and make things right.

But no matter how hard Tim tries, the words just won't come out. He knows that his  _father_  knows he can't stop the feeling that he just wants his former friend and partner back, no matter how much he tries to convince himself otherwise. It's not true, he just wants...

Tim doesn't know what he wants anymore. Detective Pikachu is  _gone_ and he has to accept that, just like he'd eventually accepted his father's death.

This is what he had been afraid of—that if he told Harry, everything would just start to fall apart and they would end up right back where they left off. If only Pikachu hadn't gotten so sick, he wouldn't have had to reveal the truth to Harry. Everything would have gone on as it normally did, no matter how awkward the two of them were as they slowly got to know each other better.

Deep down, Tim knows that isn't how it should have been.  _This_  is the way it's supposed to be, and he should have told his father the truth a lot sooner. Maybe if he had, they would have discovered their remaining connection just as soon and Pikachu might not have gotten sick on the train when he left Harry.

The silence is even more deafening now that a pin could probably be heard dropping. Somewhere along the way, Pikachu had fallen asleep again on Harry's chest, but Tim can see he's no longer in distress.

It's a restful sleep, and Harry pulls him closer.

"Pikachu...thank you," he whispers quietly so as not to disturb him. He wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.

Opening his eyes again, Harry gathers enough courage to stare back at Tim, expression lined with what seems like...regret?

"I saw some footage of the crash," he reveals, unable to take the awkward silence any longer, and Tim simply stares back at him in shock. "From Howard's hologram; a converted version of it so it would play without his wheelchair. Only a part of it, though. I saw Mewtwo shine that light on Pikachu and I thought he hurt him. I thought he made the car go over and was going to try and destroy the city. I was going to..."

Harry trails off for a moment, his eyes far away as he tries his best to think.

"I helped capture him," he says, fists clenching. He still can't fully remember what happened yet, or just how he'd managed to capture Mewtwo in the first place, but Tim had told him that he'd tracked down a Pokémon to be experimented on. "I was going to help capture him  _again."_

With horror, he realizes that he'd taken  _part_  in Howard's cruel experiments to take over Mewtwo's mind.

"Only because you didn't know. But you helped him escape in the end and now you do know, and you wouldn't do that again," Tim does his best to reassure him, although he's not sure if it's working. But he  _knows,_  recalling when he'd claimed Harry never would have been a part of something like that. Despite his small sliver of doubt, he'd been  _right._

"He saved you because you saved  _him."_

Something that Tim can't quite place flickers across Harry's gaze. He shifts in the bed, positioning Pikachu gently so the electric mouse is comfortable underneath the sheets as he continues to rest while Harry gets up.

"Dad, you shouldn't..." Tim says, about to get up himself and stop his father from moving when he really  _shouldn't_  be getting up from the bed at all.

Then he hears it.

_That is correct._

The voice invades Tim's mind, but it doesn't necessarily  _feel_  like an invasion. It enters calmly and just as smooth, though it's still very unexpected.

He gets up from his seat.

"Mewtwo," Tim barely manages to let out when the Pokémon comes into view, his voice so quiet that he almost hadn't heard himself.

Mewtwo is  _here_  in the hospital, in their room—

"Kid," is all Harry can say as he finally forces himself completely off the bed to make sure that Tim is safe behind him.

"It's okay, Dad. He won't hurt us. He helped us...he saved the city. He saved you," Tim whispers, reminding his father of the good that Mewtwo had done.

Harry understands, especially now that Tim had finally told him the truth about everything that happened. It was just a bit of a shock to suddenly see the psychic in a hospital room of all places, hovering over the white tile beneath their feet. Tim wonders faintly just  _how_  Mewtwo had managed to get in the room, but then he remembers Howard smashing the building windows while in his body, and that Mewtwo could probably do the same but with less force. He knows how to control his powers; the window is open now behind him, revealing the sky that had gown dark.

Somehow, seeing Mewtwo in a dimly-lit hospital room is a little more frightening than Howard's office. Tim fears at first that he'll risk being seen by staff that might come in to check on Harry, but then remembers that as a psychic, he probably has the power to erase memories. Whether he had intentionally erased his father's about being Pikachu or not, Tim isn't exactly sure.

_As I told Pikachu, you have helped me see that not all humans are bad._

Harry bends over suddenly, gasping and holding his sides.

"Dad!" Tim exclaims, holding onto his shoulder before he can completely lose his balance. He looks to Mewtwo, and the powerful being simply stares on. Tim stands frozen in place as Harry recovers when their eyes meet.

_Your sudden realization helped me to also comprehend what was happening to them, even in my weakened state._

"So you found us here," Tim says, almost unbelieving. He thinks he can see a faint nod from Mewtwo, but he isn't sure. All that matters is that he'd found them, and he's here to help again. He still wants to help even after everything that happened.

"Pika..."

Tim glances towards Pikachu upon hearing the weak sound. He'd thought he was getting better now that he was with Harry, but...he's restless again in his sleep, and the shaking is back. Did they have to be closer than he thought at all times from now on?

Mewtwo locks onto his father, and Harry doesn't know what to think or how to react except hold his ground. Tim realizes that if Mewtwo is  _here,_  something is still wrong.

 _It seems I have_ _greatly underestimated_ _the_   _extent of your injuries. Even after the separation, they are still present, though they cannot be physically seen._

No...they can't still be hurting. He'd brought them back together. It was supposed to be  _working!  
_

_No one could survive a crash like that. Not even your dad,_ Tim can remember Yoshida telling him, recalling the awful footage of the crash. He hadn't wanted to believe it at the time, but Tim knew he was right.

Pikachu may have helped him survive by offering his body, but in the end, Harry was only living on borrowed time after being separated from the one thing that had kept him alive.

Tim takes his chances and asks the one question that's burning at him. "Is there anything you can...do?"

 _I am able to sever the connection completely, now that my mind and powers are fully healed,_ Mewtwo explains, probably more calmly than Tim can understand him to be. 

So he would be able to help Harry and Pikachu. He could break their connection, and then they would be fully separated like they were supposed to be.

 _But once_   _the connection is broken, only the one Pikachu asked me to save may survive. He would not be able to live on without the connection._

 _No,_ Tim thinks frantically, keeping his gaze glued to Pikachu. But no matter how much he doesn't want to admit it, Mewtwo is right. With each passing minute, Pikachu seems to be getting worse the longer that he has a connection to Harry, and it's also the other way around as his father can barely stand up straight.  _No, no, no..._

 _I can ease Pikachu's suffering as he slips away. It would not be painful. It would be like falling asleep,_ Mewtwo says gently. If he was trying to be reassuring, it's not exactly working.

But then Pikachu would never wake up again...he doesn't deserve this. He deserves anything but this! It doesn't make any sense. If Pikachu is hurting while still connected to Harry, then shouldn't breaking that connection  _help_  him? 

All Tim can think of is when Detective Pikachu had been hit by the rock, and he had begged Bulbasaur to help save him.

_I don't want to lose him, too._

He  _is_  going to lose him, just like he feared. Harry's grip tightens around his son, and Tim finds himself leaning into it. This can't be happening. He's here with Harry and Pikachu, just like how Mewtwo needed him to be.

 _There is a son. With the son's return, I can repair the father,_ Tim can recall Mewtwo saying in the flashback.

Why isn't  _anything_  working?

There has to be...

 _There is another way,_ Mewtwo interrupts his train of thought, and Harry hears him, too. 

_A permanent solution..._

Tim's eyes widen, and it doesn't take him long to realize what the psychic means. It can't be...

Another way. Is Mewtwo suggesting...? Tim looks up at his father, and Harry gazes back with a tired yet knowing kind of expression.

 _"I can't help it, I hurt the people who need me. That's who I am,"_ an echo of the past whispers to Harry cruelly.

He's  _hurting_  Pikachu without even meaning to, and this is the only way to stop it.

They both know, and Mewtwo confirms it.

_Harry Goodman, you have an important decision to make._


	6. Chapter 6

The hospital floor begins to open up into a white vortex of space beneath his feet, but Tim isn't worried. Mewtwo has done this before, when he'd transported them to Harry's apartment the first time after his father had changed back to normal. The hospital itself begins to dissolve, fading away into another location entirely.

Somewhere more familiar...more comfortable and personal for what was about to happen. It seems they always end up back here for one reason or another.

They're back in in his father's apartment once more, in Harry's bedroom, and Tim is still forever grateful for Mewtwo and all he's done— _is_  doing—to help them again. He could have ignored what he'd felt was going on between Harry and Pikachu. He could have stayed hidden in whatever safe haven he had found. He could have chosen to stay as far as he could from Ryme City, especially after everything he had been put through to have his mind taken over by the man who had built the city itself.

But instead, he'd chosen to come back. For reasons Tim can't fathom, Mewtwo hadn't ignored the pain between his father and Pikachu. He's here yet  _again,_  offering his help when he never had to, and all Tim can do is remain grateful. In spite of not having very many choices in their current situation, Tim is still grateful and he wishes there was some way he could show Mewtwo or give something back in return.

Instead, all he can do is stare on at Harry and Pikachu, unable to push away the impossible feeling that this is the last time he'll ever see his father as a human.

Harry already knew what his choice was going to be the moment Mewtwo had said that otherwise, his partner would die.

But could he really do this? It isn't the thought of never becoming human again that bothers him—it isn't the somewhat terrifying thought that he would have to live out the rest of his life as a small and fluffy electric type Pokémon.

Could he forcibly place his consciousness back inside of his partner just so Pikachu would live on in a different way? He can't exactly remember what it was like being inside of Pikachu. He still can't remember anything during his time as a Pokémon, only knowing what Tim had told him. He can't remember what it was like having pointy ears, a lightning-shaped tail, or red pouches on his cheeks that stored electricity. He can't even remember using electrical powers.

He's not sure how it all works. Is he going to be in total control of Pikachu without really knowing it, or will they be in sync together, one never really being in control of the other? Will he remember who he was this time? Or will Pikachu's mind simply be dormant while his is awake, without any memories of who he was as a human? It just doesn't seem fair that he would get to live a semi-conscious life while Pikachu had to 'sleep' his away.

Would it just be better for Pikachu to...for Pikachu to pass on without any pain as Mewtwo had offered?

Harry knows he'd never be able to live with himself, not that he really can already. However accepting his son might be of the situation with the two choices they have, Tim would never forgive him.

Pikachu is his  _partner._  He would never let anything happen to him, and he can't let him down like he had let his son down so many times.

If the connection was broken as the two of them are now, only he would survive the full separation.

Why  _him?_ Because Pikachu had asked Mewtwo to save him, and his sacrifice would mean nothing otherwise if they didn't go through with merging again, thus losing him in the process?

A horrible thought comes to him. What if it's like Howard and Mewtwo? Based on what Tim had told him and from what he could remember during his own investigation, the man had used R to force humans and Pokémon to merge together. The serum made it easier for Mewtwo to place one soul into the other by force, neither agreeing to such a bizarre change in their lives.

 _He did not have to be under the influence of R in order for you to merge into his body,_ Mewtwo says, as though he'd been listening in on his thoughts. Or maybe the psychic can simply see his dilemma by the way he's kneeling next to his bed, hardly able to take his eyes off of his partner. He hasn't even really noticed that they're not in the hospital anymore, but in his bedroom.

"What?" Harry asks, confused, yet refusing to look away from Pikachu. He's afraid that if he does, he'll look back and his partner will be gone, unable to take any more of their pain.

Pokémon had to be in a 'crazed state' for the merging to work...right?

_His bond with you is so strong that he did not need to be in a crazed state when he asked me to save you for the merging to be successful._

Harry realizes what Mewtwo is trying to explain. Pikachu's bond with him is so strong that completely breaking off their connection would be enough to  _kill_  him. It would also be enough keep his partner alive afterwards, healing his injuries that had remained in his human body after the separation. It sends a shiver down his spine.

Pikachu would pass on, sacrificing himself yet again. Harry knows he'd never be able to go through with something like that and be able to sleep at night when it was all over.

"Pikachu," he says softly, running his hand gently down a red-circled pouch on his cheek. To his surprise, Pikachu is just barely able to open his eyes in response to his touch, though the yellow mouse is far more tired than Harry has ever seen him before. It breaks the detective's heart to see him in such a way when usually, he's a nearly-uncontrollable ball of energy. A well-behaved electric mouse that didn't just eat things he picked up off the floor, yes, but still nearly-uncontrollable at times when he wants to be, and Harry almost laughs. Almost...but he holds it in.

"Is this what you want?" Harry asks in a whisper. He doesn't care if Pikachu can't understand him the way he had been able to understand and talk to Tim while they had been merged into one. In a lot of ways, he'd been able to understand Pikachu without even needing to say anything at all, and it was the same for Pikachu, too. They had always been able to understand each other on a deep sort of level, no words required.

Unable to stay awake much longer, Pikachu's eyes close slowly not in defeat, but...acceptance, and a small nod is enough to confirm his choice, only further cementing Harry's resolve.

He takes comfort in knowing it won't be like Howard and Mewtwo; he wouldn't be  _forcing_  his consciousness back into Pikachu. This is what would be best for the both of them...

But one thing still bothers him.

"Why..." Harry murmurs, apparently not even needing to further voice his question.

 _You want to know why I keep saving you,_ Mewtwo echoes in his mind. Harry isn't sure he'll ever get used to another presence inside his head, and he's a bit surprised. He  _had_  been inside of another body, after all. Maybe it's just because he still can't remember what that experience was like.

But he does want to know  _why._  First the car crash, then the rock, falling several stories as Tim said and Mewtwo catching him in midair before he could even touch the ground. Even now as he and Pikachu face their most difficult decision together so there would be no more pain between them...it had to be frustrating and a little tiring having to save the same person over and over. Pikachu he can understand, but himself...

_It left a great impression that the one who tracked me down had a change of heart and decided to set me free, instead. You blame yourself for the torture I was put through._

He  _does._  He'd been the one to find Mewtwo, enabling Howard's team to capture him, and then he had been put through numerous experiments far too cruel for Harry to even comprehend...and it was all because of  _him._ Why is Mewtwo still helping him when he doesn't  _deserve_  it?

_It is no one's fault except the man who set it all in motion. His actions do not determine that of all humans, and he did not inform you of his true plans for me._

Howard's true plans...if only he could remember what he had been told in the first place that had made him agree to track down and capture the most powerful Pokémon in the world. Actually, he's not sure if he wants to find out.

"I think I know why this is happening."

Tim's voice reaches him, and he turns from the bed to see his son walking slowly towards them.

"It's all my fault. Before going home, I wished that I could still understand Pikachu. I wished that Detective Pikachu was still here. If I hadn't made that stupid wish—"

A wish? He thinks this is all happening because of a wish he made? Fervently, Harry moves away from the bed and bends down in front of Tim so he can take in his son's face, even though Tim won't look at him.

"If I had told you the truth sooner..."

 _None_  of this would be happening. They would have found out about their connection much sooner than they had, and maybe Harry and Pikachu wouldn't be in so much pain now.

"Kid, kid, listen. Listen... _none_  of this is your fault. It was already happening. It just took some time for us to see."

He had always had a more psychic kind of connection to Pikachu ever since the crash. He might not have felt it right away, but they had finally discovered it when Tim got on the train to go home. The pain, the strange flashbacks, coffee being all he could think about, saying things that left him a little more than confused...it all had a reason.

"Y-you don't have to do this," Tim chokes, gathering courage to look down at his father. He memorizes every aspect of his human form from his hair, his eyes and glasses as well as his hands.

If he doesn't do this, Pikachu will die. But against all odds, that isn't the main reason for his decision.

"I'm not doing this because I have to, or even because you  _want_  me to—"

Tim instantly starts to protest.

"I don't  _want_  you to, Dad. I just want..."

There it is again. What  _does_  he want? But Tim knows he can no longer lie to himself.

"You miss him, don't you? You just want your partner back."

It's not an accusation, and Harry isn't angry about it. He's anything but angry or even jealous, understanding that his son needs to let it out.

Despite himself, Tim caves at his father's words that finally allow him to express the silent, unexpected grief he's been holding in since Harry turned back to normal. Telling Jack and his father the truth about what happened was one thing and provided some relief, but admitting how he really  _feels,_ and that Harry accepts it...

It's true. It's wrong,  _so_  wrong, but it's  _true._ He'd rather have his partner back than his own father—his partner that he'd developed such a strong bond with after everything they had gone through. He'd denied having a Pokémon partner for so long and then he'd unexpectedly found one in his father's apartment. It didn't last, and he had his partner ripped from him once the truth was revealed.  _Pikachu_  was the father he'd been searching for all along like it was some kind of sick  _joke..._

His guard is let down and he sobs, his shoulders shaking. He wills himself to stop, but the tears just keep streaming. He and Detective Pikachu had only known each other for...what? A few days? A week? He  _shouldn't_  be crying over someone he hadn't known for that long, no matter how heartless the thought seems. He's technically known Harry for an even  _shorter_  period of time.

It's just the thought that Detective Pikachu had been taken away by someone he'd thought was dead,  _gone,_  someone he thought he  _hated,_  and that someone had turned out to be his estranged father who he hadn't seen or heard from in years.

In a way, his partnership with Detective Pikachu had been  _stolen_  from him in the blink of an eye, and he would never see the small detective he'd grown so close to again...

"Oh, kid...it's okay. It isn't wrong. It's okay to miss him and want him back. He'll be here soon. It's okay," Harry whispers. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love. We both do."

"I'm sorry, Dad, I..." Tim can't finish, his tears obstructing his ability to speak. For all he knows, it's his fault  _again_  because he just can't let go of his partner, and his unwillingness to let go is the reason for Harry and Pikachu's pain. Maybe if he could just  _let go_ , Mewtwo could break the connection and they would both be able to survive without the bond that holds them so close together.

"You have  _nothing_  to be sorry for," he says firmly. "I understand. I get it, I'm not mad, it's okay. It's okay..."

Harry repeats the words over and over until Tim's shuddering slowly subsides.

His son has lost enough family already. He needs his partner.

Harry doesn't belong in his original body anymore. The people of Ryme City had been changed back to normal by Mewtwo and he had as well, but it wasn't meant to last for  _him._  Mewtwo had made a mistake, an error because of all the torture he had been put through. Now that his mind is healed, it's another mistake he wants to fix. Harry was never supposed to be separated from Pikachu in the first place. The people of Ryme City had never died in a fiery crash.

"I want this," he reassures Tim softly. "Pikachu wants this...we can both feel it in our jellies. Ever since that crash, it was meant to be like this..."

After finally learning the truth, he understands what that one single word means.

Hope...a belief in something you believe to be true so strongly when everyone else tells you otherwise.

"What he did for me...I'd do the same for him. In a heartbeat...I  _am._  You never leave your partner behind."

He hadn't expected that it would literally mean never leaving Pikachu behind, but he honestly wouldn't have it any other way, and he senses that Pikachu feels the same, too.

"But Mewtwo said it's going to be permanent...there's no going back once you do this, Dad. You'll never separate and change back into a human again. You'll always be Pikachu, it wasn't meant to be like—"

It's Harry's turn to protest, and he can't help it when a small grin spreads.

"Kid, my name has been Harry my entire life. I think I was  _meant_  to turn into a hairy Pikachu," he says, almost chuckling at his own joke but managing to hold it back. That was a pretty bad one...

Surprisingly, it's Tim who can't help a small laugh through his tears, and Harry's heart lightens just the slightest that he'd managed to make his son feel a little better, a feat he had previously thought impossible.

"I was supposed to die in that crash. It was like...it was like destiny. I—"

He's not able to finish, a searing hot pain prodding him in his side where it always seems to be the most sensitive. Bright fire and glass shattering around him fills his vision, and it takes him a great deal of effort not to lose his footing and stumble backwards.

"Pika pi..." Pikachu whimpers from the bed in response to Harry's pain.

They have to hurry.

If he doesn't do this, who knows how long they'll both last against the pain, against his injuries from the wreck that still plague him? Or maybe since Pikachu's bond with him is so strong with him as Mewtwo said, they would both be trapped in an enternal suffering. It would never end unless the connection was broken and Pikachu passed on, his bond with him strong enough that his own pain would subside and he'd be able to live on in his original body.

Or maybe...his injuries will disappear if he merges again into Pikachu's body that had been mostly unharmed in the crash. They would still be connected, and Pikachu would still be able to live...just in a different way.

Otherwise...

He can't allow that to happen to his partner.

"Wh-what am I going to tell Grandma and Grandpa? Lucy? Lieutenant Yoshida?" Tim questions.

"Something tells me he'll take care of that," Harry says, glancing back towards Mewtwo. The psychic waits patiently, hovering by Pikachu's side next to the bed. Once he changes back, Mewtwo will probably make it so whoever he had known would think he's 'dead' again, or something along those lines.

"What am I going to tell  _him?_  He'll want to keep looking for you and won't understand he'll never find you because you  _are_  a part of him—"

Harry immediately knows the 'him' that Tim is talking about. Once he turns into Pikachu again, he might not have any memories of his human life, just like before.

"The truth," he says firmly, just in case his suspicion is right. "Promise me you'll tell him the truth. He deserves to know."

Tim nods. He won't hold back the truth this time.

He  _can't._

"What about your job?" he asks. His father had always been a workaholic, spending more time with Pokémon than his own family. How ironic that now, he's going to be permanently turned into one...yet still be able to spend time with his son.

"I'm pretty sure I'll still be a detective," Harry says knowingly.

A detective with the added bonus of understanding both humans and Pokémon.

His work doesn't matter. His son is more important, Pikachu is more important. His  _family_  is more important. He doesn't care he'd be throwing it all away, because he'll still be able to be with his son like he  _always_  should have been.

"Tim, if being returned to normal for such a short time was another chance for me to be with you...to have a chance to truly say goodbye like this in my original body...I'm grateful."

Before Tim knows it, the tears are back. He crashes into his father and Harry can hardly react, willing his arms to wrap themselves tightly around his son.

Tim says the four words that he hasn't said since he was just a small child.

Before everything had fallen apart.

"I love you, Dad," he whispers. He means it. He loves his  _father,_  not just a talking Pikachu.

Harry's eyes widen, and his heart lifts. He squeezes Tim with the most bone-crushing hug he can manage and he's met with no resistance as Tim hugs back just as hard.

He never thought he'd ever get to say it again in return.

"I love you too, kid. More than you could ever know, and...and he was right. I'm  _damn_  proud of you. Always have been, always will be. Never think otherwise."

Tim knows he doesn't deserve it. His father should be  _anything_  but proud of him after all he'd gone through  _because_  of him.

Harry is the first to let go from their hug, however much he doesn't want to. The longer he and Pikachu have a connection as they are now, the longer they'll be in pain.

"I'll be watching out for you. We both will."

He moves back towards his bed, kneeling next to his partner, and Mewtwo knows he's ready.

They're  _both_  ready.

Tim stays back, giving them space for what was about to occur. It seems more than strange that he's actually witnessing in person what had happened in the crash, only now...it's the other way around in terms of who was saving who.

 _Pikachu,_ Mewtwo begins, hovering near the bed behind Harry.  _Your human partner, Harry Goodman, offers his life much the same as you offered your body to save his mind. But it will be different. There is no going back...it will be permanent. He offers you his mind, his soul, so that you both may live on without pain and loss. No more suffering. I take this body forever so that two souls will be_ _merged permanently together as one._

Harry doesn't know if he's trying to distract himself from the imminent change. He's not sure if it's Mewtwo giving him one last chance to relive the most happiest memories of his human life before they slip forever from his grasp. Either way, he allows himself to sink into what he'd tried so hard to block from his mind after the inevitable had happened to his family. He'd drowned himself in work and grief, pushing himself so far from his son that he thought Tim would never come into his life again.

_Meeting Tim's mother...falling in love..._

_Marrying the love of his life, the wedding..._

_Tim's birth, his wife holding out his newborn son to him..._

_Becoming partners with Pikachu..._

_Reuniting and spending time with his son in the most weird, unexpected way possible..._

Harry grips the bed sheets tightly, as if to try and hold onto the last of his remaining humanity. It's getting harder to think clearly, and the most he can do is move his hand closer to Pikachu's outstretched paw as if he can comfort his partner that everything will be okay. The pain in his side is beginning to fade, ebbing slowly away into nothing.

Mewtwo's voice continues to echo inside his head.

_There is a partner. A partner who misses you. Return with your partner..._

Harry feels a soft grip on his hand and he gasps, a white light completely engulfing his vision and growing brighter until it begins to fade at last.

For the third time since he'd crashed, the world goes dark around him.

xxxx

It seems different than what he'd seen in the original flashback. The white light from Mewtwo's hand fades into blue, moving up and down Pikachu's body like some kind of scan from a machine. Maybe because this time is different, because his father is going to permanently be Pikachu, Mewtwo just needs to perform some sort of scan himself to make sure the merging had worked correctly. He's not about to argue with that if it means the pain will be gone.

The blue light begins to trail off of his body, becoming larger and brighter until Tim has no choice but to close his eyes so he won't be blinded. He feels a faint rush of air, similar to when Mewtwo had fixed the city and changed everyone back to normal, a sign that he's possibly reverting memories of those who knew Harry back to when the detective had been thought to be dead.

Opening his eyes again when the light fades, Tim can see that the electric mouse is beginning to stir. Looking behind him, Mewtwo is gone.

His father and Pikachu have merged permanently into one. The change is complete.

"Pikachu...?" Tim whispers, waiting patiently for the newly-transformed Pokémon to come to his senses.

Pikachu moves the bed sheets with his paws so he can free himself, shaking his head to rid himself of his dizziness.

"Ugh...sweet mother of Arceus, what hit me?"

Tim blinks rapidly, gasping at the sound of the voice that had come from Pikachu.

Wait... _voice._  His voice is no longer just simple variations of his name. No more  _pika, pika..._

It's still his father's voice...coming from the body of a Pikachu just like it had when he'd first entered the apartment.

Tim can fully understand him again, and the realization is enough to send him back into tears.

He shouldn't be happy.

The sound of crying causes Pikachu to look in Tim's direction, and his ears perk up in alarm to see his partner in such a state. The last time he'd seen Tim cry was at the police department when they had been talking about Harry.

"Kid! Kid, what is it? What's wrong? Did we win? Where's Howard, is Mewtwo still under control?"

"Y-you're back, you're back. You're back," Tim repeats the words over and over, not sure if he believes them yet.

Pikachu tilts his head to the side, confused. He'd never left. Well, he  _had,_  but then he came back.

He hadn't left again...had he? Why are they back in Harry's apartment? Where is his hat? Somehow, those questions don't seem too important.

His partner is all that matters.

Slowly, he crawls over the bed sheets to gently nudge Tim's arm.

"Hey...I'm right here."

Tim runs his hands over Pikachu's soft fur, willing himself to believe that he's here, that he's  _real_  and not just some cruel hallucination. He pulls his partner closer to his chest, and Pikachu only presses himself further into the contact.

"I thought I'd never see you again..."

More confused than ever, all Detective Pikachu can do is hold on tightly in return. He'll never leave his partner again, not if he has anything to say about it.

"I'm not going anywhere..."


	7. Chapter 7

Pikachu doesn't know how long they've stayed in each other's arms, but it's long enough for Tim to have fallen asleep in his current position, exhausted from crying. Crying about  _what,_  Pikachu still isn't sure, but it does leave him concerned despite his confusion.

He'd said something about him being back, but for the life of him, Pikachu doesn't know what that means. He's pretty sure he hadn't left a second time, which he does still feel guilty about. He never should have left his partner in the first place and he  _especially_  shouldn't have shocked him the way he did, even if it hadn't been intentional. His powers had just returned to him in the worst way possible, but now he certainly has a better handle on them. He'll never hurt his partner like that again.

Tim is still kneeling next to the bed, his arms around him. His grip is more loose than before, allowing him to carefully make his way out of his partner's hold so he won't wake him up by accident. Faint, golden light seeps in from behind the bedroom window's blinds, a sign that it must be early morning, and that they've been here longer than Pikachu thought.

If he could pull Tim up into the bed, he would, but he's just a small Pokémon without the strength he needs to do so. Instead, he settles for taking the bed sheets into his own paws. Albeit awkwardly, he moves the sheets over Tim's shoulders until he's satisfied that his partner is warm enough while he's not in his arms.

He moves back to the middle of the bed and sits upright so he can take in his surroundings, his mind working a mile a minute.

So they're back in his... _Harry's_  apartment. But how did he and Tim get here from the city so fast? It was like the blink of an eye, and it leaves him more confused than anything, like he was picked up all of a sudden and placed somewhere else.

His amnesia is messing with him again, isn't it? No matter how hard he tries, he just can't come up with a reasonable explanation for being back in the apartment.

He finds that if he thinks too hard, it's almost like he was... _gone._  Just gone. He hadn't exactly  _left,_  but...he was just gone. Like he had been stuck in the dark for a while. Maybe he'd gotten hurt in his battle with Howard or knocked out, and Tim had brought him here? Then again, wouldn't a Pokémon Center be a better option? Maybe he hadn't been hurt too badly, but he'd probably been knocked out, and if that's true, why  _hadn't_  Tim taken him to a Pokémon Center? Not that he wants to go to one anytime soon. The thought of it sends a chill through him for some reason he can't place.

The more his mind works, the more confused he becomes.

At least he doesn't seem to have sustained any injuries from the fight. Apart from some dizziness when he'd woken up, he feels fine. The dizziness is gone and his body actually feels refreshed, like he's just taken a nice nap. Maybe they didn't need a Pokémon Center, after all.

Feeling around the top of his head with a paw, he notices that his hat is still missing, though that's the least of his worries. Maybe Tim has it somewhere and is just waiting for the right time to give it back to him. He does hope that he hasn't lost it...the hat is important. He can't remember due to his constant forgetfulness, but Harry must have given it to him at some point before he'd gotten amnesia...before they'd been in that awful crash. Maybe even when they'd first become partners. Aside from Tim, it's the last thing he has of Harry, and he wants to keep it close.

Speaking of Harry...where is he? Did Tim find him while he'd been out of it?

If they're  _here,_  that must mean that the city had been saved and they won! Howard is probably behind bars like he should be, and Mewtwo is safe. Where the psychic himself is now, Pikachu has no idea, but he hopes Mewtwo is okay wherever he is, and that he's recovering from having his mind taken over.

Before he can jump off of the bed to start a search of the apartment, the sheets start to move around slowly on their own, and it takes Pikachu a moment to realize that Tim must be waking up. Glancing behind him from across the bed, he finds that he's right, and his partner is blinking wearily at him and maybe with a hint of...disbelief? Like the kid still can't believe he's actually here? Again for the life of him, Pikachu still can't figure out why that might be. He's  _positive_  he hadn't left a second time!

"Hey, bud..." Tim says slowly, almost unsure. But he sounds absolutely relieved, like he's finally getting to call him that again for the first time in a while. The awkwardly-placed sheets fall off of his shoulders, and Pikachu quickly scampers back over to him.

"Come on, kid, we still have one last case to solve!" he exclaims in a rush, eager to get started.

"What's that?" Tim asks, seemingly confused.

He looks at him for about a minute, unsure if he's joking or not. He can't have possibly forgotten about his own  _father's_  case. Despite winning the fight against Howard, Pikachu's detective partner is still missing!

"Harry! We figured out that Mewtwo wasn't the one who caused the crash and who was really behind R, but we still need to find Harry. I'm going to lay out some more clues. We can still do this, you and me. We can still find him."

Tim is tempted to let him lay out his clues. He's tempted to let him make a fire hazard out of his dad's apartment again for old time's sake. He's tempted to just let their search for Harry continue on and on. It would never end—Harry has  _already_  been found, but Pikachu doesn't know that yet. If he doesn't tell him the truth, they would keep trying to solve a case that has  _already_  been solved, but Tim would be happy with his partner by his side. He could hide the truth forever and avoid the heartbreak that would come with it.

But he knows he  _can't._ He'd kept his promise to his father's Pikachu that he would be okay, and now he needs to keep his promise to Harry. He can't go back on it...

The electric mouse jumps off of the bed before Tim can stop him, landing onto the floor.

"Pikachu...wait."

Much to Tim's relief, he slows and turns back around.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Tim asks, procrastinating for as long as he can.

Pikachu hops to the best of his ability back onto the bed, keeping a good grip on the sheets so he won't fall off.

"I remember leaving you, but then coming back. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I pushed you away when you needed me most."

The words sound very familiar, and it takes Tim a moment to realize that Pikachu has already said them once—just before Mewtwo changed him back into Harry.

Tim realizes that Mewtwo must have given him all of his memories as a Pikachu back, but he had left out the most important one—revealing the truth about Harry. If it was so he could tell Pikachu the truth himself, Tim is once again grateful. He'd rather tell his partner in his own words the truth about who he really is, or at least who a part of him is. He promised his father he would, and he  _will,_ as he keeps telling himself. No more holding back the truth.

Just...not now. Soon. All he wants is to be with Pikachu for the time being. Technically, it hasn't been that long since Harry was returned to normal, but it feels like it's been years.

He'd been so sure that he would never see him again. If the two of them hadn't still been connected after being separated, life would have gone on. He wouldn't have had his partner with him, but Harry and his Pikachu were both equally a part of the small and furry, hat-wearing Pokémon. There still would have been the smallest chance of his partner returning somehow, as it had turned out to be the case.

If Harry had chosen to let his Pikachu go without any pain, Detective Pikachu would have been lost forever. In a way, it would have been like killing him  _twice,_  and Tim's heart pounds harder at the scary thought. He pushes it away and focuses on the fuzzy face in front of him, making a mental note that he should give Pikachu his hat soon.

"I'm just happy you're back...partner," Tim whispers with a small and relieved smile, repeating what he'd said as well before Pikachu had changed back.

Pikachu brightens with a smile just as wide, disbelief and warmth settling in all at once.

He's come a long way from claiming "I don't need a Pokémon".

_But then Mewtwo revealed the truth about Harry. Just when he'd finally, really and truly accepted Pikachu as his partner, there was a shining light, and he was gone. He'd never see his Pikachu again..._

Tim's grip tightens unintentionally around Pikachu's fur, but the electric mouse doesn't seem to mind, only leaning in closer with concern.

He forces himself not to think about that. His partner is  _here,_  he's back, and that's all that matters. He's here for good. No one is going to take him away again, and he doesn't have to pretend anymore—he can finally say  _his_  Pikachu.

"What else can you remember?" Tim asks, curious.

"I remember...fighting Mewtwo. Howard, I mean. Then the last thing I remember is falling. How did I not...die?" he questions awkwardly.

"Mewtwo saved you," Tim answers, his smile still present. The psychic is always helping them when he can. He just  _did._

 _Oh,_  Pikachu thinks.  _That makes sense._

It's still a little hard to believe that the Pokémon they'd originally thought caused the crash actually  _hadn't,_ and he had been trying to help them all along.

"How are you feeling?" Tim decides to take the chance and ask. He doesn't mean for this to sound like some kind of interrogation, but Pikachu's ears just twitch a little as he comes up with a reply.

"I'm...okay. I feel fine," he answers, a little too slowly.

Tim can tell that something is still bothering him. He wonders with a bit of fear if somehow, the pain is back and Pikachu is just trying to hide it from him, as Nurse Joy had explained that some Pokémon do. But now he can understand him again, and he doesn't have to guess like he'd had to with his father's Pikachu.

"No pain anywhere?" he asks, just to be sure. He needs to  _know_ that his father and Pikachu are no longer in any pain, the entire reason that Harry had decided to merge again into his body. Permanently.

Pikachu pauses for a moment. Why is Tim asking him all these questions about how he feels? He appreciates his concern, but if anything, it only makes him feel...uneasy. Like something isn't right, and he can't figure out what.

"No," he says, and he can see Tim visibly relax, like he's relieved about something. "I do feel okay, but I just feel...different. I don't know how to explain it."

He honestly isn't sure. Aside from feeling like he'd been picked up and put somewhere else, there's still the issue that he doesn't exactly feel like himself. He doesn't feel sick, and he isn't in any pain as Tim had questioned for reasons he can't place...

"I feel...trapped," he manages to get out uncertainly.

But that isn't the right word. How could he be trapped in his own body? He's always been a Pikachu...right? He just feels...he doesn't  _know,_  and it leaves him more unsettled than anything. He feels like he's missing something big, something important, and it's been lost on him. It just won't  _come_  to him, and he's afraid he'll never get whatever it is back.

He's a detective, just like his missing partner is. He knows it, he can  _feel_  it in his jellies!

But still, he just can't figure it out.

"I don't know why," Pikachu admits. He looks up at Tim, silently begging for help. Maybe he knows something he doesn't. "Kid, what...what happened while I was out?"

 _Please. Tell me what happened. What really happened,_ Harry's tired and begging voice echoes in his mind.

Tim lets out a sigh, and Pikachu isn't sure he likes how it sounds. His partner closes his eyes, as if he's preparing himself for something.

"Pikachu, there's...something I have to tell you."

xxxx

The look on his face is enough to make Tim wish that he'd held off longer on the truth for as long as he could. Any semblance of joy at having his partner back has just been shattered into a million pieces, replaced by the heartbreak that he had wanted to avoid so badly.

But he's done enough wishing and lying. If there had been an easier way to break the truth to him, he would have done it. But there was honestly  _no_  easy way or more perfect time than  _now._  He has to tell himself that there  _never_  would have been a perfect time to reveal the truth to his partner. Neither of them could have been ready for the impact, and the most he can do is make sure that he's with his partner through it all.

"Pikachu, I..." Tim begins, but the small detective is already back on the floor, not allowing him to finish.

"N-no. Why would he do that?" Pikachu barely manages to let out. Harry had... _chosen_  to stay as a Pikachu? He doesn't understand, and he stares down at his paws as if to try and confirm what Tim is trying to say.

That...that  _he's_  Harry? The father they've been looking for all along is actually... _him?_  It can't be possible!

"It was the only way. His partner was in pain. They were both in pain because his injuries from the crash were still there in his human body," Tim does his best to explain, his heart pounding in his ears. "If Mewtwo had broken their connection, his Pikachu wouldn't have made it. Only Harry would have lived. He did it to—"

The strangled cry of shock leaves Pikachu before he can even think of holding it in.

"No!"

There  _had_  to have been another way! Harry was— _is_ a great detective! A world-class detective!

Why  _couldn't_  he have found another way?! He can't be  _gone..._

They still have to solve the rest of the case. They still need to  _find_  him. But how can he find someone who's already been found?

"You're lying," Pikachu whispers, taking a step back. He has to get out of here, he can't stay in the apartment any longer. It's not  _his_  apartment anymore.

"Pikachu, please..." Tim begs, taking a step towards him, reaching his arms out as if to try and stop him from leaving. Either that or he's just trying to be comforting, and it's not exactly working. "I can't lose you again."

He takes another step back, eyes wide. He'd never left. He  _hadn't!_  Tim can't 'lose' him again. He can't think straight, he can't  _breathe,_  he can't...

He can't be Harry. Tim's father would have  _never_  chosen to remain a Pokémon forever.

His words from only moments ago when he'd woken and had seen Tim crying echo inside his mind.

 _I'm not going anywhere.._.

He shouldn't have said it. Deep inside his being, regret swirls. All he's ever known is regret. Regret for never being there in his son's life, for leaving Tim when he needed him most more times than he can count.

His son...but he's a Pokémon. A Pikachu. He's  _always_  been a Pikachu, no matter how much his gut is telling him otherwise. How much  _Tim_  is starting to convince him otherwise.

 _No!_ Pikachu screams again in his mind.

His head hurts. His heart hurts, but he doesn't know why. What Tim is telling him  _can't_  be the truth!

_I'm so confused..._

As if he can escape his own body, he runs. But he knows he can't. If what Tim said is true and Harry really  _had_  chosen to remain as a Pikachu forever, he'll  _never_  be able to escape, and that idea terrifies him.

Harry can't be gone, he just  _can't..._ he's going to find him. He doesn't need any clues!

"Pikachu, wait!" Tim shouts, but to no avail.

Pikachu rushes towards the door. In a blind state of panic, he leaps up as high as he can, gripping the doorknob in both of his paws and frantically turning it. If he thinks about it hard enough now, how does he, a  _Pokémon,_  know how to open a human door? It's something that mostly psychic types or taller Pokémon would be capable of doing, or transforming Pokémon like Ditto.

It's how he first entered Harry's apartment only because by some miracle, the door itself had alread already been unlocked; maybe a mistake on Harry's part if he wanted to leave in a rush when it came to solving a case. Humans are always coming in and out of the lobby, so it would be easy for him to sneak past them and get in or out of the apartment building.

Tim only stands in place, his eyes just as wide and unable to bring himself to move after him.

A beep snaps him out of his shock enough to pull out his phone and look down at the screen.

 _Did it work?_  a text from Jack reads. Tim assumes that the 'it' Jack is talking about must be the connection between Pikachu and his father. He wants to know if bringing them back together had worked, and if it had helped Pikachu's pain.

But didn't Mewtwo revert memories of those who knew Harry, or at least knew  _of_  him, based on what they had been told? Tim figures that maybe Jack was an exception, since he had told him the truth about what really happened. Grandma and Grandpa didn't know the full truth, Lucy didn't, and neither did Lieutenant Yoshida, so  _their_  memories have probably been reverted to think Harry is dead again.

Leave it to Jack to text at a perfect time like this. He answers anyway—he owes his friend that much, especially after all the help he'd given by finding the Pokémon Center and staying with him there.

 _Yes and no,_  Tim decides to respond, his fingers shaky.  _I'll explain everything later._

If they get out of this, maybe Jack would even get to meet Pikachu at some point.

But his partner is gone again, and Tim has a pretty good feeling that Mewtwo isn't going to help this time. Not because the psychic doesn't want to, but because he knows that  _Tim_  knows he needs to do this on his own.

 _They_  need to do this on their own and get through things together, but there's one person he can think of that might be able to help. He dials the only number he can think of—the one person who can possibly help.

She doesn't even have time to say hello.

"Lucy, please. You have to help me find him," he says, hopefully not too fast so that she hadn't heard.

"Find who?" Lucy asks, understandably confused. The only explanation Tim can get out is who they're still 'searching' for, according to her.

"My father," he answers simply as he can.

Harry never had the chance to meet her. Tim had told him about her, but he'd never asked anything more. If he knows at least one thing about his dad now, it's because he probably didn't want things to be any more awkward than they already were between them.

Lucy had known that he'd been found alive and well, but she didn't know the whole story behind the case. She didn't know what had  _really_  happened in the crash, and Tim had never told her that he could understand and talk to Pikachu.

But she thinks he's  _dead_  again because of Mewtwo reverting memories, or at least that he's still alive because of some cover-up, just as Pikachu had convinced him.

"I meant to tell you this earlier," she starts, her voice excited, "but Roger actually offered to help with the case. Can you believe it? First the news, then the Pokémon that were experimented on, and now your dad. I guess he's not such a bad guy, after all—"

"You don't understand. Pikachu," Tim gets out the best he can without sounding too awkward. He's not sure how he feels about the son of Howard Clifford wanting to help with his father's case, but he pushes it into the back of his mind.

"What?" she asks, just to make sure she'd heard right. What is Tim talking about? What's wrong with Pikachu and his father? Isn't he still missing?

"We kind of had a fight, and he ran out of the apartment—"

"Wait...how can you have a fight with Pikachu? Is this like what happened back in the Torterra garden?" Though that still has her confused. It's not like they could have understood each other, so how could they have had an argument?

"Just come if you can," Tim says. He's kept his promise to his father, but Pikachu isn't the only one who needs to know the truth. "Please. I'll explain everything when you get here."

"I'm on the way now."

The slightest bit of relief pours into Tim that she'll be here soon, but the weight of it all comes crashing down and outweighs the relief.

His father is going to permanently stay as a Pokémon. A Pikachu...and that terrifying realization must be starting to sink in subconsciously for Harry, too. He may have been accepting of his own decision at the time he'd made it not too long ago. He and his Pikachu may not be in physical pain anymore, but now they have to get through a different kind of pain together.

If only he had kept the truth from him just a little while longer, they wouldn't be in this mess now. Things would have gone back to the way they used to be before he'd known the truth about what really happened to his father.

Tim knows that isn't right. He couldn't have kept the truth from Pikachu any longer than he had with Harry; it would have only done more harm than good, as he had already learned the hard way.

Just as soon as he'd gotten him back, he's lost him again just as quick.

But now isn't the time to cry, and it's easier to stop himself before he can even begin this time.

His tears have already run out.

He pulls the detective hat close that he's been keeping safe with him since going to the Pokémon Center, running his fingers over the soft fabric.

He'd already found his father, but now he has to find his  _partner._

Not too long ago, he wouldn't have admitted it. He would have admitted to  _anything_  except having his own Pokémon partner.

Now it's the exact opposite.

Tim never would have expected to agree with what Detective Pikachu had tried so hard to make him believe before he had finally come to that realization on his own.

They need each other.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, sorry updates have been a bit sporadic lately! As you might have guessed, this story is nearly over and I'm not ready to let go of it just yet, so the last few updates might take a little longer because I don't want to stop yet, lol.
> 
> I also have another story I've been kind of working on, but I'm not sure if I will actually post it - a slightly AU-ish Detective Pikachu story, so I'm a bit excited about that but still unsure if I'll actually go through with it.
> 
> I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading, following or commenting on this story, it really means a lot ^^
> 
> We're almost at the end!

Lucy has been quiet for the past five minutes, staring on with an expression that Tim can't quite read. It seems to be a mix of a lot of things, but he can't pinpoint exactly what. He's sitting on the couch in the apartment, while she's standing with Psyduck by her side and trying to process what he's just told her.

"So your dad...and Pikachu?" she finally manages to get out.

"Yes," Tim confirms, still unsure of how exactly she's taking the news. She'd been 'covering' Harry's story, so she has to be in just as much shock as he had been when he'd first found out. It's not really an easy thing to swallow that the truth has really been right next to them the entire time. Lucy had her story right  _there,_  and Tim had his partner that turned out to be his father in a way he never expected.

"Your dad...is Pikachu?" she drawls out uncertainly.

"Kind of," he says, and she blinks at him like he's crazy. He doesn't blame her if she thinks he  _is._

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Psy!" Psyduck cries, holding his head; Tim can't blame him for getting a headache already. It's a lot of information to process, just like it had been for Pikachu. While Psyduck can't understand actual words, he must be picking up on Lucy's stress, and the reporter seems to sense this enough to try and calm herself down while she continues to listen.

"He and Pikachu were merged into one again by Mewtwo. His mind and soul are inside of Pikachu, but he doesn't remember anything about being human. Just like before," Tim does his best to explain. It always helps when he says things out loud to try and make better sense of them, especially something like  _this._

"And when he was separated from Pikachu, he didn't remember anything about being a Pokémon? They still had some kind of connection between each other?" Lucy asks, not quite sure if she's even starting to make sense of it all.

How is it even possible? Because Harry had nearly died in the crash, and the most powerful Pokémon in the world— _Mewtwo_ —had saved his life by putting his consciousness into Pikachu?

"No, he didn't remember anything about being Pikachu when he'd been turned back. He and his partner were still connected in a way that caused them both pain unless Mewtwo broke the connection and Pikachu passed, or they kept their connection by merging together again to stop the pain," Tim says as slowly as possible so she can process his words.

"Which is what Harry decided?" she questions.

The reporter can't even imagine trying to make a difficult decision like that. Staying as a Pokémon for the rest of his life? She's starting to understand why Pikachu ran out the way he did. The poor electric mouse may not remember what happened or what had led to his permanent transformation, but based on what Tim is telling her, Harry must know deep down that he's going to stay as a Pikachu forever now. She doesn't blame him for getting scared and running off.

"But still...Harry and Pikachu! I probably should have caught on a lot sooner," Lucy says, trying to imagine their journey with Tim's father by their side the whole time.

"I didn't even suspect anything, not even with how he could never seem to get enough coffee. Not to mention I could  _understand_  him, so don't be too hard on yourself."

Of course, Tim had originally thought that he could understand Pikachu because of the R gas that he'd  _accidentally_ inhaled, but Pikachu being his father makes so much more sense—that their unknown relation had enabled them to understand each other.

Besides, those who had been affected by R during the parade hadn't seemed to be able to understand their own Pokémon before  _or_  after they'd gotten merged together by Howard. Despite Mewtwo fixing everything and everyone in the end, they still hadn't seemed to understand their Pokémon the way he and Pikachu do.

Lucy just lets out an exasperated sigh. She shakes her head dramatically, but Tim only shrugs. He just wants to start searching for Pikachu, which is what they  _should_  have started doing a long time ago when Lucy first arrived at the apartment.

It's only been an hour or two since he ran out, but shouldn't he have come back by now?  _Wouldn't_  he have come back if all he wanted was to be alone for a while to cool off and start understanding what had happened to him better?

Tim mentally slaps himself. He should have gone after him, he should have—

"Maybe one of us should stay here. He might come back," Lucy suggests.

"Psy!" Psyduck seems to agree.

"I think he would have done that by now," Tim says as calmly as he can, glancing towards the apartment door.

"He can't have gotten too far," Lucy says just as calmly, for the sake of both Psyduck and Tim.

He still has the detective hat with him, the address inside that had first led Pikachu to the apartment. What if he gets lost and can't remember the way back? Or what if someone tries to capture him because they think he's a wild Pikachu?

Tim guesses that he doesn't have to worry too much in that regard; he has to remind himself that Ryme City doesn't allow Poké Balls. Still, there's always a chance that he could run into someone not too keen on following the rules, though very slim.

"I shouldn't have told him, not yet at least. He wasn't ready..." Tim himself hadn't been ready, either.  _Neither_  of them had been ready.

He should have waited. It had been too soon, and Pikachu didn't understand. This is what he'd been afraid of and had warned Harry about—that Pikachu would want to keep looking for him, not understanding that he would never find him because he  _is_  a part of him.

He'd just gotten him back...

"You promised Harry you would, right?" Lucy asks softly.

Tim nods weakly. He did. He  _promised_ he would tell Pikachu the truth, and he had. He kept his promise, but now he's not sure if he regrets it...

"Then it was the right thing to do. You couldn't have kept it from him forever...I think deep down, he can feel who he really is."

"In his jellies," Tim adds, and she blinks at him.

"What?"

"Never mind," he says, not wanting to make her even more confused than she already is.

"So back in the Torterra garden when Pikachu ran off, that was because you two had an actual fight with each other?"

Tim nods again, happy to answer more of her questions to help clear whatever confusion she has left, which is still probably a lot.

"He shocked me, but he didn't mean to. He was upset because he thought he betrayed Harry when Mewtwo showed us that first flashback of Pikachu in the crash."

"But it was actually his Pikachu begging Mewtwo to save him, and he did it by merging them together," Lucy says thoughtfully, thankfully beginning to better understand the story. She never would have expected! If the truth that Tim had just revealed wasn't so personal, she'd be all over it in seconds. She would be on the air, revealing to the entire city and the  _world_  that humans and Pokémon merging together is possible. But Tim doesn't even have to ask her to not even think about bringing it up in front of millions. They don't even remember that the merging had happened, and she herself doesn't remember merging with Psyduck.

She'd thought that something... _off_  had happened after Howard's defeat, but couldn't place what. No matter how hard she tried to remember, it just wouldn't  _come_  to her, but she's glad that Tim trusts her enough to tell her the truth.

"Do you remember anything weird happening between us, Psyduck?" she asks her Pokémon partner curiously.

"Psyduck!" he exclaims, shaking his head frantically. He's probably just warding off another headache.

"I thought there was  _something_  weird going on between you two when you left my office to go to the docks," she murmurs, recalling how both human and Pokémon had seemed to be muttering to each other as they left.

Tim doesn't answer. Looking back at him sitting on the couch, Lucy falters when she sees that he's holding the small detective hat closer to his chest. So  _that's_  why the Pokémon had always been wearing the hat. He hadn't actually been Tim's Pikachu, but his father's, and in the end, he really  _had_  turned out to be Harry himself.

Tim begins to get up from his seat and squeezes it tightly, imagining his partner in its place like they had been just that morning. It was just the two of them after being apart, and everything was so perfect...

What if he'll never have a chance to give the hat back?  _Anything_  could have happened to Pikachu by now. He could be  _anywhere_ in the city, or maybe he's not even in the city at all by now. What if he's hurt, or someone really  _has_  captured him like he fears?

...What if he runs into someone like Howard, someone that they know and who wouldn't be too keen on helping him return? He has to shake his head to get rid of the unpleasant thought, but he unwillingly keeps coming back to it. Howard is currently in jail, but Charizard's partner from the Roundhouse had gotten away. What if...

"Hey."

He feels a gentle hand on his shoulder and looks to the side at Lucy. She gives him a small smile and he appreciates the attempt at comfort, though it's far from how he feels.

"We'll find him," she says. Tim wishes that he could feel just as confident.

xxxx

Pikachu continues to wander the busy streets of Ryme City, trying his best to ignore the Pokémon around him with their partners. The humans look at him like they feel sorry that he doesn't have a partner of his own, and how could they know otherwise that he  _does?_

Tim is his  _partner,_  not his son. That doesn't make any sense! How could he not have noticed before? All the signs...his coffee addiction—Pokémon do  _not_  drink coffee—and he and Tim being able to understand one another. If he really  _is_  Harry, then why hadn't Tim recognized his voice? Was it because he hadn't seen him in years?

Why hadn't they questioned their ability to understand each other more? There's no way it could have just been the R gas as Tim previously thought.

He avoids the Hi-Hat Café as he rushes past, barely giving it even a second glance. Harry must have frequently visited the place before the crash, and that's how  _he_  knew where to go whenever he craved caffeine while he had been alone in the apartment.

Pikacnu keeps his head down as he strolls forward on all fours, trying desperately to keep the Purrloin sitting comfortably in its partner's lap out of his view and the Sneasel sitting nearby with its own partner, both Pokémon happy as can be.

He's stopped suddenly when he nearly crashes into legs just ahead of him, and he's forced to look up to see a little girl smiling down at him. Glancing around quickly, Pikachu can't seem to find her parents anywhere, but they must be nearby. They probably pointed him out to her and are keeing their distance so he doesn't become afraid and ruin their daughter's chances of making friends with an adorable Pokémon like him.

"Here, Pikachu," the little girl says, holding out her hand. She's cute and short enough so she doesn't have to bend too far down to his level, but Pikachu knows better than to get any closer. She would want to take him home, and then where would he be? Stuck as the little girl's partner? He'd never be able to do anything to hurt her to escape. He'd be stuck in her home for who knew how long until he found a way out, and the thought doesn't sit well with him.

"Are you lost?" she questions innocently.

 _In more ways than one,_  Pikachu can't help but think solemnly. He's not exactly paying attention to his surroundings, but he's still somewhere in the city. How far from the apartment now, he doesn't know, and he's not sure if he ever wants to again. He can't go back there, not now that he knows the truth...whatever that truth really is.

He feels bad for making the little girl cry as he runs off past her in the other direction, but it's for the best.

xxxx

He doesn't realize how long it's been since he ran out of the apartment until the sky begins to grow dark above.

Just how far has he gone? He isn't sure...

He doesn't have his hat with the address to Harry's apartment inside, and he's already having trouble remembering how to get back. He's had enough time to cool off and think, and especially to be alone. Now he really  _is_  alone and with all of the humans and Pokémon no longer in sight, he takes notice of the cold air and shivers slightly.

Why had he freaked out so badly? He should have stayed, he should have listened to Tim...

He needs to get back to him. He  _said_  he wouldn't go anywhere, now here he is.

But where is  _here,_  exactly? Ears perking up, he lifts his head to sniff at the damp and chilly air. There's large crates around him, and a familiar building up ahead where he and Tim had interrogated Mr. Mime.

Without even knowing it, he's reached the docks. Maybe instinct had led him here again? A stray Rattata or two skitter past, and his heart starts to pound a little harder as he continues to make his way forward. If only Tim were here, he could sit on his shoulders like last time, moving back and forth on the lookout from a high perch. He'd claimed that his lungs are the size of grapes, but he realizes that he had come a lot farther than he intended.

If Tim was with him, it would be easy to find his way back, but he  _isn't,_ so now he has to find the way back on his own. He really should have paid more attention to his surroundings and not have Tim do most of the work.

Pikachu stops suddenly in his tracks.

Is he just imagining things, or does he have the strange and uncomfortable feeling that he's being watched? Peeking around one of the crates, he finds that there's no one there. He sighs in relief, moving to the next crate only to find that again, no one is hiding close by and watching him.

"Serenity now, serenity now," he attempts and fails miserably at calming himself down.

Pikachu takes another tentative step forward—

He yelps sharply when he's yanked off of the ground so fast he barely has any time to react. The human's grip is rough, and he's only able to struggle a little.

"Look what we have here," the voice of a man says. "Who knew we'd find you way out in the middle of nowhere and save us all the trouble of searching ourselves."

That voice...it seems very familiar, and it takes a moment for him to fully recognize it. Straining to turn his head to get a better look at his captor, Pikachu's eyes go wide when familiarity settles in.

_Charizard's partner._

It's Shirtless, torn coat and all.

He must want revenge for scoping out the Roundhouse and 'bringing' along the police, forcing everyone to scatter or risk being caught. Shirtless must have gotten away, but Pikachu can't see his Charizard anywhere, and he almost breathes a sigh of relief. At least that's one thing he doesn't have to worry about. He remembers the fire type being washed away with them by Gyarados, and the police arriving soon after. Charizard must still be with the Ryme City police...

With all the strength he has, Pikachu calls forth his power inside. He closes his eyes in an effort to let loose every bolt of electricity he can in order to get back down, but...

There's nothing. No yellow flash, and not even a single spark. He grunts, pushing himself harder until he's gasping for breath.

Still nothing.

He hasn't forgotten how to use his powers again. No, he can remember as clear as day ever since he'd used them in the battle with Howard.

They just aren't  _working..._

He notices that the man's grip on the scruff of his neck feels a bit...rubbery against his fur.

 _The gloves,_  he realizes with horror as he takes note of the pink gloves that Shirtless is wearing for protection.  _The_ _gloves are blocking my powers._

He goes limp in the man's harsh hold—not because he  _wants_  to, but just so he won't continue wasting energy that he'll most likely need later to escape if he can.

"Is all this really necessary?" Pikachu mumbles. Just how had Shirtless known he'd been coming through the docks so he could put them on?

Much to his dismay, he has to remind himself that Tim is the only human who can understand him. He might be able to understand humans himself again now, but what good is that if he can't talk back?

Still, Charizard's partner chuckles as if he'd understood.

"Is this the right Pikachu?"

Wait...who's he talking to?

Out of the shadows steps a Pokémon he thought he'd never see again.

No...it's  _him._

 _Mr. Mime_ had been the one following him!

Pikachu shakes his head desperately, pleading quietly not to give him away.

 _I'm not even a Pikachu!_ he tries to exclaim, but the words just won't come out.

Mr. Mime glances towards Pikachu as if to make sure he understands what Shirtless wants to know, and nods a little too enthusiastically.

Of  _course_  Mr. Mime would rat him out. He and Tim had lit him on  _fire._ It may have all been fake, but it had been real to Mr. Mime. Tim may have done so by accident in the end, but they'd mimed doing the worst to him so he would 'talk.' He can't blame the Pokémon for wanting to have a little of his own revenge.

"Can never be too careful around a Pikachu, especially this one. I already learned my lesson when he beat Charizard the first time, gave him a nasty scar, and then destroyed my place and nearly had all of us arrested."

Mr. Mime points first to Pikachu, then himself and lets out an overly-dramatic fake and silent sigh as if to say,  _I know the feeling._

Shirtless smiles forlornly like he understands, and keeps Pikachu hanging in the air from his grip.

The building where he and Tim had interrogated Mr. Mime feels all too familiar, and Pikachu has a bad feeling he's not here for an interrogation himself.

What he  _doesn't_  expect to see as they enter is... _her._ An even more familiar 'human' with dark glasses, and Pikachu can only gape in surprise.

"You too?!" Pikachu squeaks. Great, now there's  _three_  of them. How is he ever going to get out of this?

Ditto— _Ms. Norman_ —only stares back without response, but Pikachu knows better now, even if he hadn't had a clue when she'd been Howard's assistant. No  _wonder_  she'd been giving them that hidden, knowing smirk. She had never responded nor given any indication then, but she had  _understood_  what he'd been saying in the elevator.

"You're a Pokémon too, so I know you can understand me," he says as Shirtless takes him away deeper into the run-down building.

Nothing. All he gets in return is a blank stare back from behind dark glasses, perhaps even more blank than the first time they'd met, if it's even possible. Pikachu doesn't know the rest of the story behind what happened in the building with Tim and the Ditto, but based on the way she's 'looking' at him, Ms. Norman also wants revenge like Mr. Mime. Ah, one of the joys of being a detective—making enemies wherever you go.

Ms. Norman just continues to stare at him as she walks besides them, completely emotionless, and Pikachu is unnerved enough to just keep his mouth shut, or at least try to.

He's not very successful.

"Please. I have to get back to my s...partner. I have to get back to my partner," he says. If Ms. Norman had caught on to what he'd been about to say, she doesn't show it.  _He_  can't even believe he'd been about to say  _that._

His pleas fall on deaf ears and she remains quiet as Shirtless takes him away, still trapped in his tight grip. He's probably imagining it, but he thinks he can see a flicker of what seems like regret or sadness on Mr. Mime's face.

What  _is_  Tim now? His son, his friend, or his partner? He doesn't have a clue. The only thing Pikachu knows is he won't ever be able to look at him the same way again. He almost wishes that Tim hadn't told him the truth, but some part of him is glad. Otherwise, he and his partner would have gone on a never-ending search for the truth that Tim himself already knew. His partner would have been  _lying_ to him the whole time, and Pikachu can now understand why he'd told him. Maybe not fully, but...he's starting to.

Shirtless, Mr. Mime and Ms. Norman, all three partners in crime. Who would have thought?

"I couldn't exactly go wandering around the city looking for you with the police on my tail, so thanks for coming along. At least now, I have some leverage so they can't really do anything," Shirtless says as they keep on moving forward. Just how far back into the building are they going? Pikachu isn't sure he wants to know, but he  _has_  to. He needs to be aware of his surroundings and where the exit is if he wants to try escaping. They're a lot deeper in the building than he thought.

 _Leverage?_  Pikachu thinks. He notices again that he still hasn't seen Charizard anywhere this entire time; maybe that's what this is. Some kind of ransom! Shirtless wants to use him to get Charizard back!

Shirtless lifts him up so they're face-to-face, and Pikachu simply glares as menacingly as he can, though how menacing can a  _Pikachu_  really be? Charizard's partner just laughs.

"I  _really_  don't appreciate how your new partner stomped on my baby's flame, and how you destroyed my place and made everyone run. Some of us did get caught, too, you know.  _No one_  destroys my place and gets away with it."

Pikachu is tossed into a dark space that's barely big enough, even for him. He backs up as far as he can, only to hit a wall that stops him from trying to go back any more than he already has.

The man just gives him a cruel smile, and his next words share a startling parallel to what he'd told Tim just after he had woken up, though they have completely different meanings.

"You're not going anywhere for now. Watch him," he orders Ms. Norman.

To Pikachu's horror, her human shape begins to melt before his eyes. It morphs and changes until her glasses disappear and pink reveals itself into a glob of a mess. Pikachu can only stare, wondering just  _how_  Tim had managed to defeat it in the building.

"Ditto," the Pokémon can just barely agree in a moan. No  _wonder_ the Pokémon is working with Shirtless and wants revenge of its own.

Shirtless closes the top of whatever container he's been thrown into, and Pikachu is left in absolute darkness.

 _For now?_  That must mean he has other plans for him, and Pikachu doesn't want to stick around to find out.

But no matter how hard he tries, Pikachu finds that he can't even use his powers in the dark space—not even a single spark will emerge and come to his rescue. Like the rubber gloves, the container must be somehow blocking his electricity.

It takes a few more tries and failures to realize that  _no one_  is going to come to his rescue, aside from maybe...

He hopes Tim won't try and attempt to take on Shirtless  _and_  Ms. Norman by himself if he does find him. He's not sure if Mr. Mime would join in, or if the Pokémon has done its part already just by letting Shirtless know that he's the right Pikachu.

A part of him hopes Tim  _won't_  find him and he'll remain stuck in the container. He doesn't  _deserve_  to be rescued, not after what he'd done to Tim  _again._ He left him a second time, and it's even worse this time because he'd promised that he wouldn't leave again. He should have listened to Tim, he should have stayed in the apartment where he belongs with his partner...

But it's too late now. How many times had he left Tim or let him down when he had been a human?

Harry is gone because of  _him._ He'd chosen to stay as a Pikachu, and permanently. Maybe it's better if he stays away from Tim, or if his partner never finds him. Tim would only look at him and be reminded of his father who is never coming back.

Why...why had Harry sacrificed his memories, his  _life?_ That's the part he just doesn't understand...

There's no food or water inside the small container, and his stomach is starting to grumble. A cup of coffee would be great right about now, but he tries his best to ignore it. He's a  _Pokémon._  He's not supposed to drink coffee!

Pikachu sighs, closing his eyes against the darkness and curling into into a ball. Shirtless had said something about leverage, so that must mean he'll somehow be taken back to the Ryme City police whether he's ready to face his partner or not.

The only thing he can do is wait.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am both happy and sad to say that there is only one more chapter left after this...but I'm not ready to let go of Detective Pikachu yet! Remember that AU I mentioned last chapter? It's called "Shock to the System" and it's up now with currently two chapters!
> 
> Thank you again to everyone who stuck with me throughout this story ^^ I repeat...only one more chapter left! So the next and last update might take the longest to put up because I'm not ready to say goodbye to this one yet...

" _What am I going to tell him?"_  Tim's voice echoes, as if from a far-off distance.

Pikachu twitches in his sleep. He just wants it to end, but the images just continue to keep coming. He doesn't have the strength to fight, allowing them to continue seeping into his sore and cluttered mind.

_"He'll want to keep looking for you and won't understand he'll never find you because you are a part of him—"_

_Harry immediately knows the 'him' that Tim is talking about. Once he turns into Pikachu again, he might not have any memories of his human life, just like before._

_"The truth," he says firmly, just in case his suspicion is right. "Promise me you'll tell him the truth. He deserves to know."_

_Tim nods. He won't hold back the truth this time._

_He **can't.**_

_Tim says the four words that he hasn't said since he was just a small child._

_Before everything had fallen apart._

_"I love you, Dad," he whispers. He means it. He loves his father, not just a talking Pikachu._

_Harry's eyes widen, and his heart lifts. He squeezes Tim with the most bone-crushing hug he can manage and he's met with no resistance as Tim hugs back just as hard._

_He never thought he'd ever get to say it again in return._

_"I love you too, kid. More than you could ever know, and...and he was right. I'm damn proud of you. Always have been, always will be. Never think otherwise."_

Pikachu feels the weightlessness as his soul is separated from his damaged human body that's too far gone to fully heal, his thoughts becoming harder to process as his mind follows along with it.

_Harry grips the bed sheets tightly, as if to try and hold onto the last of his remaining humanity. It's getting harder to think clearly, and the most he can do is move his hand closer to Pikachu's outstretched paw as if he can comfort his partner that everything will be okay. The pain in his side is beginning to fade, ebbing slowly away into nothing._

_Mewtwo's voice continues to echo inside his head._

_'There is a partner. A partner who misses you. Return with your partner...'_

_Harry feels a soft grip on his hand and he gasps, a white light completely engulfing his vision and growing brighter until it begins to fade at last._

_For the third time since he'd crashed, the world goes dark around him._

xxxx

"I knew you were different the moment I saw you in the fighting arena."

Pikachu's ears twitch, eyes flickering open at the cold and cruel voice echoing into the container. The last of the dream fades away from his mind, dissolving into the black space around him as he fully manages to wake up.

He doesn't want to call it a nightmare, because it  _wasn't._ He'd just been subconsciously piecing together what had happened in between the time he had blacked out in the city, and waking up in the apartment with Tim crying into his fur. In a way, he's grateful that his mind is trying its best to help him remain calm and even...understanding. Little by little, he's understanding more. He's not sure if he  _likes_  what he understands yet, but he's slowly getting there.

Tim had told him the truth for a  _reason,_ because Harry had wanted him to.

It only further cements his guilt over leaving his partner a second time when he really  _shouldn't_  have.

But now, he has something more important to worry about: getting out of here and getting back _to_  his partner.

It's still dark. How long has he been in here? Days? Weeks?  _Months?_ No, it can't have been that long. He's just being paranoid.

"My master wanted to meet you really badly and when I saw you, I finally knew why."

He realizes that it's the  _Ditto_  talking to him, its voice filtering into the small container that he's still stuck in.

Ditto had been at the Roundhouse? So  _that's_  how it knew where to find them and make them get into its bad guy car. It had been informing Howard of their whereabouts the entire time.

"You are a Pokémon, but you have the soul of a human inside you," it says, any kind of emotion null from its tone. It seems indifferent to that specific fact, though maybe a little curious, like he's some kind of science experiment. Since Ditto had been one of Howard's experiments, maybe that's why it only sees him as such.

Pikachu grimaces, curling in deeper on himself. He's not a Pokémon, yet he's not a human, either.

What is he? He's questioning himself just as much as whether Tim is his son now, or still his partner and friend. He wonders how Ditto had figured out that he's not completely a Pokémon; did it sense something out of the ordinary?

"That human doesn't care about  _you,"_ the Ditto hisses as if it knows what he's thinking, the sharp edge never leaving its tone.

Tim. It's talking about Tim, and Pikachu doesn't like the way it's accusing his partner.

"He does," Pikachu says back, attempting to make his own voice just as harsh, but failing miserably. Maybe Tim hadn't cared about him when they'd first met. Far from it, in fact. He had clearly denied that he wanted or needed a Pokémon partner, and Pikachu had suggested a world-class detective instead. But over time and through the course of their journey together, they had become closer than he ever could have imagined. Tim had even stomped on Charizard's tail flame as Shirtless remembers and is angry at him for it in order to save him.

Then... _something_  had happened to him that had caused him to black out for a time, and Tim had explained once he'd woken up in Harry's bed.

 _His_  bed, because he's actually...

Then he had run out on him, and now he's stuck here with a pink blob guarding him so he doesn't escape while he's trapped inside a dark container that's blocking his powers.

The Ditto interrupts his thoughts again, and he wishes more than anything that it would just keep to itself and watch him as Shirtless had ordered.

"He only likes how he's able to understand what you say. He hated your human form, so he forced you to change back into what you are now."

"That's not true!" he shouts. Tim  _never_  would have forced Harry to change back into Pikachu, of that much he's certain. If anything, Harry would have made the decision to stay as Pikachu on his own. It's not a choice he would have made lightly, considering all options before he would go through with such a big decision that would affect the rest of his life.

Tim had said that it had to do with Harry's partner—his Pikachu. He'd said something about his Pikachu being in pain, and that the  _both_  of them had been in pain because of a connection they had still shared even while separated, and because Harry's injuries from the accident still remained in his human body.

There had been no other options, so it wouldn't have been possible for Harry to find another way for them both to live separately and without any pain, his still-present injuries from the wreck just too great for them to handle.

"My master knew the truth before you walked in," the Ditto continues to prod.

What is it saying? That Howard... _knew_  he had been transformed into Pikachu? The creator of Ryme City could have told them the truth about Harry right then and there?

"He did not know that you had merged with your Pikachu, but he knew that Mewtwo has the ability to transfer the soul of a human into the body of a Pokémon."

Pikachu isn't sure he believes it; that Howard  _hadn't_  been fully aware of the truth behind the hologram. If he had known about Mewtwo's power to merge two souls into one, then he  _had_  to have known the truth about Harry right when he and Tim had walked into his office. The hologram had shown them everything—or at least only what Howard  _wanted_  them to see—and with what Howard already knew about Mewtwo, he had to have pieced two and two together a lot earlier than he and Tim had. The thought makes Pikachu's growling stomach feel even more queasy than it already is.

Anyway, even if Howard  _hadn't,_ he still could have told them that little fact about Mewtwo, and maybe then they would have figured out the truth a lot sooner. Pikachu wonders if Tim would have thought any differently of him then if they had; if he still would have seen him as his friend and partner, or his estranged father that he'd had such a rocky relationship with.

He tries not to think about it anymore. Howard had just been crazy, that's all. He tries to steer Ditto in another direction.

"Why did you let us go once you captured Mewtwo again?" he decides to ask instead. While Ditto had still been disguised as Roger, it had just let them go after Mewtwo had once again been captured.

Ditto is quick to answer with zero doubt.

"My master once told me that a Pikachu cannot defeat Mewtwo in battle. He was right."

It's true. However inexperienced Howard was with Mewtwo's powers, he still couldn't have beat him. He's just a tiny electric mouse...there's no way he could have beaten Mewtwo in battle, just as Howard and Ditto thought. It had let them go because it had assumed that they were just too weak to be of any trouble, that they wouldn't succeed in ruining Howard's plans.

Ditto had been wrong about one thing, though.

"My partner defeated  _you,"_  Pikachu says as firmly as he can above a whisper. "We defeated you and your master  _together."_

"He is not your partner," Ditto states cruelly. "He doesn't see you as his partner."

"You're wrong," Pikachu instantly disagrees, shaking his head even though Ditto can't see him through the container. In the back of his mind, he wonders where Mr. Mime is. The Pokémon is naturally silent, but Pikachu hasn't 'heard' anything from him since Shirtless put him in the container.

Ditto lets out a pained moan, and Pikachu can't help but allow himself to feel a twinge of sympathy for the pink blob of a Pokémon.

"You're hurt," Pikachu says gently. "I know that Tim would be willing to take you to a Pokémon Center to get better."

Which is obviously something Shirtless himself can't do, because the police are after him. If he tries to take Ditto to a Pokémon Center, he'll only be caught. Pikachu figures that Ditto itself hasn't tried to go alone because it's afraid of possibly being recognized as Howard's assistant and getting in trouble for trying to help take over the city.

"We won't say anything. We can help you get better," Pikachu does his best to convince it.

The Ditto doesn't answser, shocked into silence by his suggestion. Pikachu waits for it to say something else—to accuse Tim again or badger him about being neither a Pokémon nor a human, yet having a little bit of both inside of him.

But he only hears silence, and no response in return. Pikachu stares blankly up at the darkness, waiting...but still nothing from the other Pokémon on the other side of the container. Maybe it had gotten bored and finally decided to leave him alone despite the orders given to it by Shirtless.

Just before he can attempt to push against the container, his heart almost stops when he hears a startled cry from outside. It seems like a struggle is going on, and Pikachu closes his eyes again to brace himself for what might be coming next.

Instead, light enters the container, nearly blinding him for a moment. He can't think straight at first, blind panic consuming him that it might be his captor.

Opening his eyes and blinking rapidly against the sudden light, the very last thing he expects to see is... _Mr. Mime_ hovering over him. Pikachu bristles, hackles raising in alarm.

He prepares himself to put his electricity to good use if he can, no matter if it's still being blocked by whatever Shirtless had put together to make sure he wouldn't escape.

But Mr. Mime simply gestures for him to get out of the container, and fast. He backs up so Pikachu can poke his head out, and he looks to the side to see something even more surprising—Ditto 'inside' a kind of container of its own, but even  _better_ —four invisible walls created by Mr. Mime himself so it can't escape or alert Shirtless that he  _himself_  is about to escape.

Even if it could, Ditto must be too weak to try and transform into anything other than Ms. Norman that could break out of the invisible barrier, its pink form still melting in on itself from whatever Tim had done to it in Howard's office when they had fought against each other.

Mr. Mime points in the other direction.

The warehouse door is wide open and Pikachu blinks in shock, glancing back towards Mr. Mime to make sure he's seeing things correctly.

Mr. Mime nods, motioning for him to hurry. Pikachu finally realizes that he's free to move, fully popping his head out of the container that had been blocking his powers.

"Why?" he utters in a whisper, but Mr. Mime just shakes his head, pointing frantically once again towards the open door. He grips invisible handle bars and creates the proper motor sounds to go with it, yet he barely moves just as he had done when they'd first encountered him.

Pikachu just smiles, and gets another in return.

"I guess you're not such a stupid mime, after all. Thank you," he breathes.

He doesn't need to be told twice, relief and determination to get out overcoming his hesitation and disbelief that Mr. Mime is  _helping_  him.

He hops over the container's edge, running without looking back, and without stopping to try and contemplate why Mr. Mime had decided to help him escape after what he and Tim had done to him.

It's another mystery that might be better left unsolved.

xxxx

"Did you happen to see a Pikachu run through here a little earlier?" Tim asks the clerk who had been sleeping when he'd first come through the lobby to get into his father's apartment.

"Sorry, kid," the man says. It doesn't sound like he really cares about some kid's missing Pikachu.

Tim flinches, believing for a moment that Harry is back in his human form beside him. But Tim has to remind himself that his father isn't actually here anymore, and neither is Pikachu for the moment.

"Treeecko," the same green Pokémon that has itself stuck to the glass gets out in agreement with its partner, shaking its head at least a little more forlornly in sympathy.

"Psyduck," Lucy's partner says in response, holding his own head and squeezing his eyes shut.

Lucy bends down so she can give him some kind of comfort, at least. "It's okay, it's okay. We're going to find him."

Tim has to wonder if she's really talking to Psyduck or himself. Maybe both, and he finds that he doesn't really mind.

"Come on," Lucy says, gesturing towards the front door.

xxxx

"I saw a Pikachu," someone sniffles.

Tim looks down to see a little girl, eyes wet from crying and her parents sitting nearby. He and Lucy have been asking everyone on the street.

The most difficult thing is that everyone already knows what a Pikachu looks like; they all have the same yellow fur with two brown stripes on their backs, black tips on their pointy ears and probably their most notable feature being the red-circled pouches on their cheeks.

If only  _Detective_  Pikachu still had his hat on, maybe more people would recognize Tim's vague description that matches just about any other Pikachu.

Tim wishes that he had the ability to understand more Pokémon, at least until they found Pikachu safe and sound.

"He looked sad so I tried to say hello, but then he ran off in that direction," she says, pointing forward.

"We didn't want to interrupt while she was making a new friend, so we stayed back," her mother says, tone regretful. "I'm sorry we didn't try to keep him with us...he did look lost. You would have your partner back by now..."

"It's alright. Thank you!" Tim exclaims gratefully. At least now, they have a general idea of what direction Pikachu had gone in. Ryme City is still big, and they still have a lot of searching to do.

But before they can continue moving forward, Tim's phone rings. He's come to expect that a lot of his calls are from Yoshida, and he's right again as the lieutenant's voice reaches his ears once more.

It's just what he had feared would happen, yet it's better than anything they could have hoped for and so soon, too.

"What is it?" Lucy asks, Psyduck bracing himself for the worst.

"It's Yoshida," Tim says, his eyes wide in panic. His heart is starting to beat uncontrollably. "He knows something about Pikachu."

xxxx

"Charizard's partner has him?" Tim asks, the instant spike of fear that stabs the center of his chest almost too much.

Yoshida nods regretfully as he and Lucy sit together in his office, in front of his desk. Snubbull sits faithfully next to his partner and Psyduck next to his.

"Sebastian, yes," Yoshida confirms, and Tim's heart picks up speed. How had the guy found Pikachu? Or had they just run into each other, like Tim had feared they would? It's a big coincidence, but a very unfortunate and scary one at that.

"He wants to do an exchange—we'll get your father's Pikachu back if we return his Charizard, which you know we cannot do when there is clear evidence that his partner was mistreated," Yoshida says sorrowfully.

"What evidence?" Tim tries to counter, but he has a feeling that it has something to do with a certain, purple gas that was being used in battles at the Roundhouse.

"That Charizard is still recovering from R in the Pokémon Center shelter, Tim, as well as some of the others who were found in the Roundhouse," Yoshida lets him know gently. "We have the right to seize any Pokémon that isn't being treated right or neglected. You know this, and it's something you will learn when you begin your training as a detective if you still want to follow in your father's footsteps."

It doesn't register at first that Yoshida is talking about Harry like he's...gone. Which is true again, in a way. All he can focus on is getting Pikachu back. At least now, they have an idea of where he is, or in the very least who he's with. Sebastian has been on the run from the cops for a while now according to Yoshida—before Tim and Pikachu had unintentionally busted the Roundhouse—and he's taking every measure to make sure that the cops still won't find him even if he had contacted them about his little hostage.

"Please. He's  _my_  partner now. I can't let anything happen to him," Tim says, close to begging. He needs to know that Pikachu is  _okay._  He just wants him back...he'd already lost him once, and he can't lose him again. "We can't just leave him with that guy! He might  _hurt_  him," Tim does his best to sway Yoshida, forcing himself to push away the terrible thoughts of what could be happening to his partner now as they talk. The more time they waste, the more of a chance that something could happen to Pikachu.

"Harry would have wanted you to become partners with his Pokémon," Yoshida murmurs quietly, contemplating his options.

Tim nods immediately in agreement. He and Pikachu already  _are_  partners. He'd accepted the electric mouse as his partner a lot sooner than he ever thought he would.

"I'm sorry. It's simply a risk we cannot take, but I am looking into what I  _can_  do for him. We need to think this through very carefully so no one gets hurt in the process."

It might be cruel to admit, but all Tim cares about is his  _partner._

Tim knows what Yoshida  _isn't_  saying—what he won't admit out loud. No matter how important Pikachu is to the both of them because of Harry, it's simply a risk not worth taking for one small Pokémon if they can't fulfill their end of the deal regarding Charizard. It's also something he'll have to learn once he gets into his training—that sometimes, you might have to leave someone you love behind. Right now, though, that's an option Tim refuses to take.

But Tim also knows that Yoshida is right; Sebastian had given Charizard the R drug on purpose so he would have a better chance at defeating Pikachu in his rematch. Could he really give Charizard back to his partner, and while he's  _still_  recovering from R, no less? Who knows how many times Sebastian had used the gas on him compared to the other Pokémon that had been affected by the same substance? Tim mentally shakes himself. He  _has_  to do this if he wants to get Pikachu back.

Or does he really  _have_  to...? Lucy stares at him with an expression that clearly says she doesn't like what he's thinking. Snubbull stares even harder at him from across Yoshida's desk, shaking his head in warning. A warning that Tim is probably—not likely—going to heed.

"Did Sebastian say where he wants to do the exchange?" Tim inquires as innocently as possible to make it sound like he  _doesn't_  have any particular plans.

Apparently, Yoshida knows better and Tim's heart drops at his response. Just what had Sebastian told him that is making the lieutenant so reluctant to let Tim get Pikachu back? He has an inkling it  _might_  be something along the lines of either Tim going alone without any backup, a risk that Yoshida certainly will not be willing to let him take.

"Tim. Once, your father asked me to look out for you if something ever happened to him. I intend to keep that promise."

That makes a lot of sense; Tim had figured Yoshida's reasoning would be something like that, and why he will never let Tim risk his life.

It takes a moment for Tim to realize that Yoshida's memories have indeed been reverted, so now he believes that Harry is dead again. He's back to having that same, sorrowful expression he'd had when they first met and when he had argued with Tim about Harry, showing him the footage of the crash.

"I won't do anything stupid, Lieutenant.  _I_  promise," Tim attempts to sway him. He  _has_  to sway him, or else...he won't allow himself to think about it any further. The idea that Pikachu could be hurt in the hands of someone willing to drug his own Charizard, or worse...he just can't handle it. Not when he'd just gotten him back.

"I'm sorry, Tim. You know I can't legally share that information," Yoshida says firmly, and Tim's shoulders slump.

Tim knows he really just doesn't  _want_  to, only using that as a pathetic excuse.

He glances to Lucy for help and she eyes him from behind her dark glasses, nodding towards Yoshida like she has a plan to deal with this situation.

And she  _does._

Much to Tim's amusement, she grips her coffee cup tighter.

_"Oh wow, how'd you do that?" he'd asked Lucy in excitement when she said she'd gotten information from Roger._

_"I spilled a cappuccino on his lap," she had answered just as quickly in equal excitement._

_"That sounds like a waste of coffee," Detective Pikachu had quipped. But soon, he'd quickly agreed that she was good at being what she was meant to be: a reporter._

_"So I searched through all his records..."_

Within moments, chaos ensues. The coffee 'slips' from her hands unintentionally, and the cup falls onto its side. If at all possible, it seems like extra coffee seeps instantly onto Yoshida's desk and into his lap.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry," she 'apologizes' quickly. Yoshida gets up from his seat just as quick, the hot coffee spilling down his otherwise neat work clothes that are now heavily soaked. Snubbull shakes his head to get rid of a drop of coffee that had spilled on his nose.

"Psy, psy!" Psyduck cries in surprise when a bit of coffee also lands on his bill.

"Let me go get some napkins," she offers, giving Tim a very subtle wink. He simply stands by as her plan unfolds, not wanting to interrupt. "That looks like it will take some time to get off your shirt."

"No, no, I'll go. It's alright," Yoshida insists, and Lucy doesn't even protest as he goes out the door with Snubbull trailing close behind. The Pokémon turns back to look at them both for a moment, his eyes intent and glaring like he knows what they're up to. Tim holds his breath, but then Snubbull turns around to catch up to his partner.

Lucy is already on Yoshida's laptop even as Tim turns back around, typing furiously to get the information they need.

Tim's hope begins to rise again when she lifts her phone to take a screenshot.

"Got it! The time and location of the exchange, and where Sebastian's Charizard is being kept. Let's go!"

"You're amazing," Tim whispers enthusiastically to her on the way out of the police department.

xxxx

Sebastian enters the warehouse again, feeling lighter with the knowledge that he and Charizard will be reunited soon; he'd missed his baby so much since they'd been separated at the Roundhouse. He's still wearing the pink, rubber gloves as he prepares to take Pikachu out of the small container he'd put him in.

"Good news. Your partner wants to do the exchange. He says he has Charizard with him, so it seems like this will all turn out in your favor," he speaks out loud, more to himself than to the small and yellow Pokémon he's currently holding hostage. Everything will be okay as soon as he gets his partner back.

His hopes and dreams, however, are shattered when he glances up and takes notice that something doesn't seem right.

"What?!"

The container has been opened so Pikachu could escape, and the yellow Pokémon that he needs in order to get Charizard back is nowhere in sight, probably long gone by now.

Ditto and Mr. Mime are also nowhere in sight, presumably to avoid the trouble they'll get in when he catches them. If he ever does, they'll be sorry that they had helped the little rat escape.

He rushes toward the container just in case he's seeing things, but finds that it's true.

There's nothing inside.

Pikachu is gone.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it...the last chapter! It's always sad saying goodbye to a story that you worked on for a while, and these last few months have been great. It's hard to believe the movie is out on DVD/Blu-ray now! Thank you once again everyone for your support ^^ I'll never forget it and I always keep your comments close to read over and over!
> 
> I guess we can only hope that in the sequel, they'll somehow have Harry merge back into Detective Pikachu, even though I have no idea how that could happen...which is what inspired this story :)
> 
> One last thing...I know there's a headcanon that Harry's Pikachu was actually meant to be for Tim and that Harry was going to give Pikachu to him when he got to Ryme City (but never arrived, so he became Harry's partner instead.) It's one of my favorite headcanons, but I wanted to share my own of how Harry and Pikachu might have become partners ;)

Tim isn't exactly surprised when the location of Sebastian's exchange turns out to be somewhere that he's been once before, dark shadows enveloping himself and Lucy as they move slowly among the numerous tall crates around them; perfect if anyone wanted to hide themselves from someone or something specific, like the police.

He'd insisted on coming alone, but Lucy had insisted even harder that she should come too along with Psyduck, and Tim had no choice but to agree. Sebastian had warned not to bring any cops or Pokémon, but he'd promised Yoshida that he wouldn't do anything stupid. Bringing someone along with him was probably one of the least stupid things he could have done. Of course it's still stupid as Yoshida has no idea the three of them are here so they don't have any backup in case things don't work out, but Tim is hopeful.

Pikachu is  _here._  They'll be together again soon, and that's worth the risk.

Sebastian takes a small step forward. Tim looks down at his hands, but his grip is empty.

"I don't exactly have him anymore..." Sebastian murmurs. He looks to Tim expectantly, his face falling when he sees that Tim doesn't have what he's expecting, either.

"What are you talking about?!" he shouts before he can stop himself.

"He got away," Sebastian says simply, shrugging his shoulders. He takes notice of Psyduck and frowns. "I thought I said no cops, no Pokémon."

Tim ignores him. Despite not really being the answer he wanted, relief pours into him. Pikachu got away, he's safe and that's all that matters.

Unless...

"Did you hurt him?" he demands, resisting the urge to grab him by his coat. He'd promised Yoshida that he wouldn't do anything stupid, even though the lieutenant doesn't even know he's here right now.

"I barely laid my hands on the rat. Just used a little rubber so he couldn't hurt  _me."_

Tim frowns, still not liking the idea. Pikachu must have been so afraid and if Sebastian had used rubber, that meant he couldn't have done anything to try and escape. But somehow, he  _had_  and Tim is more than grateful.

"It looks like you don't have Charizard, either," Sebastian points out, looking behind and around Tim just to make sure that he really isn't there. "Where is he? I just want him back..."

To Tim's surprise, Sebastian is close to begging.

He hesitates for a moment, considering his options. He of all people should know how it feels to lose a partner, and it seems like Sebastian misses Charizard just as much as he misses Pikachu. Under different circumstances, Sebastian had Charizard taken from him when the police arrived unexpectedly at the Roundhouse, almost like when Detective Pikachu had been taken from him after being changed back into Harry.

He holds out a small, folded piece of paper that contains the right information and Sebastian reaches for it, but then Tim pulls it back sharply.

"Since you don't have Pikachu, you have to promise one thing," he says firmly, hoping that it will work.

"What?" Sebastian asks, reluctant but willing to listen if he wants his partner back badly enough.

"You'll give Charizard enough time to recover no matter how long that might be," Tim says calmly, "you won't use R or anything else like it on him again."

Sebastian glares, but he remains quiet. Tim continues, his heart thudding against his chest. If Pikachu isn't here, he could be  _anywhere_  by now...they were so close to getting him back, but now he's gone again.

Tim keeps going, if only to distract himself for a few moments from what  _could_  be happening to Pikachu.

"Then you can send someone to re-adopt him or try to disguise yourself, I don't care," he finishes. It seems like a solid enough plan that won't cause Yoshida to be suspicious once he's reunited with Pikachu...if that's even a possibility. He tries hopelessly to push the awful thought into the back of his mind. "Pokémon are amazing and his bond with you is strong. You need to put in a little effort and not try to cheat your way through."

 _Pokémon are amazing._  Something that Tim never thought he'd hear himself say, but it's  _true_ as Harry and his Pikachu had shown him more than once. As  _Detective_  Pikachu had shown him more than once, and all the other Pokémon they had met along the way including Charizard, even if he had tried to kill them both during the rematch and when the R had worn off.

"...I'll see what I can do," Sebastian says. It sounds more like his way of agreeing, however reluctantly, and Tim holds out the piece of paper for him to take.

"Thanks," Sebastian murmurs, holding the paper tightly. He leaves the three of them including Psyduck alone among the large crates, and it takes Tim everything he has not to fall to the ground and sob. His partner is still missing...what if they never find him? What if he doesn't even  _want_  to come back?

He turns to Lucy, eyes pleading, and she stares back sympathetically. All that commotion spilling coffee over Yoshida's desk just to get the time and location of the exchange as  _well_  as where Charizard is being kept, and Sebastian hadn't held up his end of the deal. Technically, he would have if Pikachu hadn't gotten away. It isn't really his fault.

Either way, they're back at square one with no clue where Pikachu is.

The most important thing is that Sebastian hadn't hurt him if Tim believes what he'd said, and he hadn't really sounded like he was lying—especially if he wanted to get Charizard back.

"Maybe now that he escaped, he went back to the apartment," Lucy suggests. "We can search on the way back, too."

"Psy," Psyduck whispers.

Tim agrees, and they begin to leave. His chest is heavy, but he's still hopeful that maybe they'll get lucky and Pikachu will be back at the apartment like Lucy thinks.

"Wait..." a voice hidden in the shadows makes itself known. Tim thinks for a second that Sebastian came back, but it doesn't exactly sound like him. He hadn't noticed anyone else watching them as he'd given Sebastian the paper with Charizard's information.

He notices that he stops before Lucy does, able to understand in a way that she can't.

Tim turns back around, his legs morphing into jelly almost like a Ditto.

His eyes widen, and his breath nearly leaves him as a small shape steps forward slowly. It's almost like it's unsure of whether it should keep coming towards him, ears drooped and moving hesitantly.

It's...

"Pikachu!"

Before Tim knows it, he's running. A yellow blur shining brightly against the night crashes into him before he can even reach the Pokémon himself.

"Tim..." Pikachu chokes, squeezing his eyes shut tight. He buries himself into his partner's jacket and stays huddled close, refusing to budge for anything. After learning the truth and getting scared, after running away and getting caught by Shirtless along with Mr. Mime and Ditto...they're finally back together where they belong.

He's never leaving Tim again, and this time he means it. His little body trembles and Tim holds on tighter, his own eyes shut tight as if to try and make the moment last as long as possible. Lucy watches from a respectful distance, smiling softly. She steps back into the shadows to wait and give them space, motioning for Psyduck to follow.

"Pikachu," Tim says again, but his partner doesn't answer and for a moment, he fears that he's lost the ability to understand him again.

Tim opens his eyes and tries a second time.

"Dad."

Pikachu blinks rapidly and looks up at him, eyes wide and fearful, but then he looks away.

Tim is his son.  _He_ was the father they had been searching for all along. It just can't be possible...

"I don't know who I am anymore," he whispers, voice cracking just the slightest as he tries to hold back tears. "I don't know  _what_  I am."

He's a Pokémon, yet he also has the soul of a human inside him, just as Ditto had said. He wishes more than anything that he had the power to transform into a human like Ditto, even if it wasn't able to completely transform sometimes. At least it had the free will to be able to  _choose._

He can never change back into Harry. He doesn't even have any of Harry's  _memories._

"You're my partner. My best friend," Tim reassures him softly, yet firmly enough so that Pikachu knows he means every word.

The bundle against his chest shudders.

"You're Pikachu," he says, never having been more sure of anything in his entire life.

Pikachu shakes his head, his tears close to escaping. He looks down, his paws trembling slightly. The warmth in his chest is too great to ignore. It's warm, but not too hot. It doesn't hurt, but he's more aware of it now than he ever has been.

"I-I can feel him. Why didn't I feel him before? I should have known!"

He closes his eyes again tightly. This is different than jellies. He had known that he was a detective; he could  _feel_  he was a detective, but something had prevented him from fully remembering who he really was.

Tim gives him the answer, but it shouldn't be an excuse. There had been so many hints right in front of them...

"You didn't know. Neither of us did."

Neither of them could have guessed it without Mewtwo's help, despite however many clues there were from Pikachu being addicted to coffee, them being able to understand each other and even that he'd forgotten how to use his powers, because he's not really a Pokémon. At least not one completely. He's not completely human, either.

Tim's grip tightens and Pikachu finds he doesn't mind, only leaning in closer and clutching his jacket.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I took Harry away. He's never coming back..."

He's gone.

Permanently.

He'll never separate from his Pikachu and change back into a human again.

Tim pushes a hand up against his soft and white chest. "He's right here. You didn't take him away. This?"

Pikachu hiccups, heaving as he tries to catch his breath and form words. Harry is— _was_ —a great detective. If he had been able to find another way for him and Pikachu to live separately, he would have. But...

"There was no other way. It's permanent, but this is what he wanted..." Pikachu whispers, willing himself to open his eyes once more and stare back at his partner.

 _"I want this,"_  the faintest echo of a memory tugs at his heartstrings.  _"Pikachu wants this..."_

It's what they had  _both_  wanted, and they had merged back together into what he is now.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left again."

It seems like he's sorry for a lot of things lately, but Tim only shakes his head.

"Let's go home."

"I'd like that. I'd like that very much," Pikachu agrees.

Home sounds nice, though he's no longer sure where that is.

xxxx

"I...thought you might want this back," Tim says, holding out a certain detective hat for Pikachu to take when they reach the apartment at last.

Lucy and Psyduck had left to allow them time to figure things out and take their time processing the truth that Harry is really gone, and gone for good. Tim has already had time. He's had time ever since Mewtwo had shown him the truth, but Pikachu even less since that particular memory had been wiped. Mewtwo had chosen to withhold it from him as well after changing him back into Pikachu, allowing Tim to tell him in his own words.

Eyes widening, Pikachu stares at the hat until he can't take it anymore, looking away. He'd thought that the hat was the only thing he had left of Harry, but it had turned out to be  _far_  from the truth when he's actually...

He can't be. He's not a human, and he's not a father who was once a great detective.

Tim understands. He'll keep it close until Pikachu is ready, however long that might be. He'll give him all the time he needs.

Pikachu is quiet through most of the night, and Tim doesn't pressure him. If he wants to talk, he will. He may not  _want_  to talk, but he does stay close. Tim puts on an old detective movie, the one that had been playing when he'd first arrived, but it mostly serves as a distracting kind of background noise until they both agree to turn it off and go to bed.

Tim can't bear the thought of sleeping in his father's bed—not where he had recently been permanently transformed, preferring his childhood bed over the couch. Pikachu chooses to curl up at the end of the bed, and Tim can't help but feel a sense of déjà vu; it's just like when he had been sitting with his father's Pikachu before leaving on the train.

Before everything had started to go  _wrong_  and Pikachu began feeling pain because of the physical distance that had grown between him and Harry. Bringing them back together had worked just as he and Jack had figured out, but only for a short time before Harry began feeling pain again from his psychic, unseen injuries that were still present from the crash.

Time crawls by slowly and Pikachu is still restless, staring at the pointy and yellow ears ahead of him. Tim shifts, not asleep like he'd thought. He must be having a hard time trying to fall asleep, too.

"Can't sleep?" Tim questions his partner wearily.

He shakes his head.

"I can't, either," Tim admits, staring up blankly at a battle poster on the wall of his bedroom. He's not sure if he'll ever be able to take the Pikachu ears or other posters down.

Had Harry changing back into Pikachu really been the right thing to do? This is just one of many days of his permanent life as a Pikachu. If only there had been another way, but there  _hadn't._  Harry wasn't able to live without Pikachu's body, and his Pikachu had been in too much pain because Harry's injuries from the crash had been transferring over to him. It had been terrible on both ends until Mewtwo had found them, giving Harry the option of merging with Pikachu again or breaking their connection and having his partner pass on, something that Harry never would have agreed to.

In a way, his father hadn't really had a choice at all...

He just can't get the  _ifs_  out of his head. If he had just gotten on that stupid train, maybe things would be different. Maybe his father never would have gotten in a horrible wreck. Tim knows one thing for sure; Harry wouldn't have had to live out the rest of his days as a Pikachu. He tries to push the horrible thoughts away, forcing his mind to be quiet.

 _It was the only way,_  he tells himself again firmly. It's what had been best for both his father and Pikachu. They're not in pain anymore, and they both get to live on...just in a different way through Detective Pikachu.

Pikachu himself can sense that Tim is having just as many doubts as he is. Getting up from his curled position he inches closer, hesitant, until Tim lifts an arm and invites him under it, bringing him close to his chest.

"I just wish I could remember," he says so softly that Tim almost hadn't heard. It's one of the only things he's said since coming back to the apartment. "I still can't remember anything...not even how we became partners..."

He's asleep within seconds, the comfort of his partner's gentle breathing and grip lulling him to sleep, his words trailing off.

Pikachu doesn't need to explain any more than that. He's no longer in pain, but he still has amnesia. The only memories he has began once he'd woken up in the middle of nowhere, no clues as to what happened except that the address in his detective hat had led him to Harry's apartment. He can't remember being Harry, and he can't remember being Harry's Pikachu.

Tim can't recall Harry ever mentioning how they had become partners. He'd never had a  _chance_  to, but an idea strikes Tim and his eyes widen, a soft smile spreading as he finally manages to fall asleep too, holding Pikachu closer.

xxxx

Stepping on the train again sends a chill through Tim. He no longer has a reason to be nervous, but the last time he had gotten on a train, his father's Pikachu had been deathly ill. Harry at the same time had probably been in just as much pain as Pikachu at the time, neither knowing yet that they had still shared a connection with each other.

Pikachu tenses on his shoulders and it's clear that he's feeling the same way, if not worse. He can't fully remember the last time he'd been on the train, but he can sense that the last time 'he' had traveled on one hadn't been a pleasant experience. He sits on Tim's lap for the duration of the ride back to his home, something they had both agreed on just to get away for a while and visit his grandmother to see how she's doing.

Tim glances down at his lap every few minutes, just to make sure that Pikachu is still feeling okay.

"I'm fine," he reassures Tim, gazing out the window at the world speeding quickly by them. It certainly had for him. "Not even a little nauseous."

Tim smiles, thankful and satisfied with his answer. Now that Harry and Pikachu are back together, any kind of distance doesn't affect them. He can just ask Pikachu how he feels without otherwise worrying if he's in any pain.

"He looks a lot better," a voice breaks him out of his thoughts. He turns his head to the side to see the same lady that had been the first to notice something wrong with Pikachu. She must get on the train daily to get to and from work.

Tim smiles, scratching Pikachu under the chin and causing his back leg to thump up and down.

"Arceus," he murmurs, eyes closed. "Give me a warning next time, would you?"

"He's doing a lot better," Tim confirms, and the lady smiles back.

When they get off the train, Jack is waiting for them. He says that he's finally found a job, and one that's not too far from home. Tim is happy for him and it makes him wonder about his own future...if he'll follow in his father's footsteps as Yoshida had said. It's something that both he and Pikachu will have to decide together.

Jack's gaze lands on the electric mouse sitting atop his shoulders.

"Hey, little guy," Jack says gently, reaching a hand up. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

Pikachu nods, a smile trailing across his cheeks as he sniffs Jack's hand.

Ever since he and Harry had merged back into one, he hasn't felt any kind of pain.

"Pika, pika. Chu. Pikachu," his words reach Jack's ears in a way that only Tim can understand. He looks back to his friend.

"He says nice to meet you. He likes your hat," Tim is happy to translate. This  _is_  technically his first time meeting Jack, after all.

Jack laughs softly, amazed that Tim can actually understand him and the reason behind it.

"I like your hat a lot, too. Well, I did. Where is it?"

Pikachu goes quiet, and Jack realizes that he must have touched a nerve by accident without really meaning to.

He's silent the rest of the way to Tim's house.

xxxx

His grandma hugs him with near the same amount of force that she'd had when Tim had told her that Harry's Pikachu was sick.

He has to remind himself once again that since she never knew the full truth, her memories had also been reverted by the world's most powerful Pokémon.

"Your father was a good man."

Tim gives her a forlorn smile, but he means it and she smiles back, surprised and not really understanding what had changed his mind.

"I know."

She gets out an old photo album, no longer afraid to bring up old memories of someone who had been gone and out of his life for so long, and who he'd claimed that he hated.

He doesn't anymore, and a big part of him wishes that he never had—that he had just gotten on that train. He'd never kept any photos or videos of Harry, and so his grandmother's photo album is a nice surprise that she must have kept hidden over the years until now.

Pikachu takes in every picture as they sit on the couch together with him in Tim's lap, staring intently at each and hoping that maybe one or two will jog his memory and possibly spark more of his life as Harry.

Tim lands on a photo of Harry's wedding, his father holding his wife close and wide smiles on both of their faces while she lifts up her hand to show a bright ring on her finger.

Pikachu has a feeling that all of this is what he'd forgotten, never to remember again.

It's strange to think that he once had a wife.

"All I can say is that I better be the best man at your wedding, kid," he tells Tim, poking his partner in the arm.

Tim jumps, almost causing the album to topple out of his lap.

"What wedding?!" he begs to know, and Pikachu just gives him a knowing smirk.

"There's not going to be a wedding," Tim deadpans dryly. "We haven't even gone on a real date yet."

"But you knew exactly who I was talking about," Pikachu quips, his grin never leaving.

There's definitely going to be a wedding, Pikachu is sure of it. It might not be now but in the far off future, and he'll be there.

He'll still be a Pikachu too, but the thought is no longer subconsciously as frightening.

xxxx

"What is it?" Pikachu inquires, curious when Tim nearly drags him into his childhood room back at Harry's apartment. Getting away for a while had been nice, but they needed to come back home.

"It's a hologram recreated from train station security footage that Yoshida found. He said it shows something about Harry that we might want to see," Tim answers, excited, and his heart thuds harder.

Pikachu had never been sure how the holograms worked. The first one they had seen seemed to be connected to Howard's wheelchair in some way, and all he'd had to do was wave a hand over it so the hologram would activate. At the lab where Mewtwo and the other Pokémon had been experimented on, they'd had to press buttons to activate the holograms that they found there.

This time seems to be similar to Howard's hologram with Tim just waving his hand over a strange-looking device that glows and activates soon after.

Pikachu backs up hesitantly on the bedroom floor that suddenly shifts, changing Tim's childhood room into another location entirely: the Ryme City train station.

It's dark, and a lone figure is sitting on a bench near the tracks. Once Tim is close enough to see the figure's face, he realizes with a start that it's a face he  _recognizes._

Harry is sitting all alone at the station, looking like he doesn't really know what to do with himself after waiting for such a long time...only to be disappointed. Tim has an idea of what...or  _who_  he might have been waiting for. He's holding something in one of his hands, but Tim can't make out what it is.

Just when it seems like he's given up, like he's finally realized that whoever he'd been waiting for isn't going to come, a whimper interrupts the dark quiet. Harry turns to look behind him in the direction of a dark corner where the sound had come from.

The detective gets up from his seat, moving closer to the dark corner.

Pikachu follows, Tim beside him.

Harry seems confused at first, but then he bends down to get a closer look. There seems to be a cardboard box, and inside the box is...

Himself?

"It's me," Pikachu gasps quietly, glancing up at Tim with wide eyes. He looks back towards the hologram-version of him, reaching his arms out only to have them disappear into static. He pulls them out again so the hologram becomes clear once more. At least, it's the version of him that he had been before Harry had merged into Pikachu.

"Hey there," Harry says softly. The Pikachu looks up at him, big and brown eyes tired yet wary and distrusting at the same time. He backs up against the box, cheeks sparking faintly in warning.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," Harry reassures him. It always breaks his soul bit by bit every time he finds that a Pokémon is lost, injured or worse...abandoned, which is what this Pikachu seems to be. He glances up, looking around and across the tracks, but hardly anyone else is here this late at night.

Pikachu sniffs at the tiny hat that Harry is still holding in his other hand.

Harry looks back down at him.

"This was supposed to be a present for my son. To...to help bring back some pleasant memories. We used to pretend we were detectives, solving all kinds of mysteries when he was younger."

The Pikachu tilts his head to the side, becoming more curious the more that Harry tells his story. Harry isn't sure how much he understands, but he seems to like the sound of his voice. He continues on, keeping the same gentle tone so as not to spook the little yellow Pokémon any further than he already is.

"He was supposed to come and start living with me today, but then he decided not to. I can't really blame him, and I don't want to force him."

The Pikachu coughs, startling him out of his thoughts for a moment. He must be sick, too. This can't be good...maybe if he gains enough of his trust, he'll allow himself to be taken to a Pokémon Center to help him get better. Harry cannot in good conscience leave a Pikachu here to fend for itself, especially not one that's sick.

"I was never there for him after his mother passed. I came here to the city, and now I actually  _am_  a detective. What a coincidence."

"Pika," the Pikachu seems to agree, unexpectedly snatching the hat out of his hand.

"Hey!" Harry almost shouts, but then lowers his voice when the Pikachu cowers for a moment.

He gestures to the hat, pointing back at himself, and Harry has to do a double take.

"You...want to be partners?"

What else could Pikachu be trying to say? Harry had never considered having a Pokémon for a partner until now, only because the thought of one would only remind him of how far apart he's grown from his son.

Today had only served as a harsh reminder that he's not as close with Tim as he used to be.

"Pika, pika!" the Pikachu squeaks, enthusiastic at the idea and placing the hat over his head.

Harry sighs. How could he say no to that face?

"That's not really what I had in mind, but it does look pretty good on you. Alright, I guess I have my own little detective again," Harry says, smiling at the thought. "I'll have to write down my apartment's address inside it so you don't get lost. Or the hat, since you seem to like it so much."

He can't stop smiling. The Pikachu  _is_  pretty cute, and his son's favorite childhood hat does make him look even cuter.

Then it hits him as the Pikachu stares up at his forehead, very proud of his new hat. Tim's favorite Pokémon is  _Pikachu._  His bed at home has tall Pikachu ears built into it, and he's just found this stray Pikachu.

Maybe this was meant to be.

The scene switches to Harry holding the Pikachu in his arms. He struggles and Harry is confused at first, but then he smiles when he realizes that all Pikachu wants is to sit on top of his shoulders as they make their way to a Pokémon Center. Afterwards, Harry certainly has plans to bring him home to his apartment. Tim might not have come to live with him today, but his new partner makes up for it almost like an unexpected twist of fate. Harry wonders how the Pikachu will react to the ears that he'd built in honor of his son's original room.

The hologram begins to fade around them until they're back in Tim's room. Pikachu looks up at his partner, his eyes glistening. Tim isn't faring much better.

"So that's how we became partners," he whispers in awe, staring back at Tim. "If you hadn't decided to stay home, then..."

Then Harry might have never found Pikachu. He wouldn't have stayed at the train station so late, and someone else could have come across him and taken him home, or someone not as kind.

If Harry hadn't found Pikachu, then...then maybe he wouldn't even  _be_  here right now. Maybe Harry would have truly passed on in the crash.

"It was like..." Tim isn't able to finish, looking to Pikachu for help.

He already knows exactly what to say, recalling when he had been trying to convince Tim the same thing.

"Destiny," Pikachu finishes for him. "I can feel it in my jellies."

Tim smiles at the familiar phrase that he's come to know so well.

Pikachu may not remember his life as Harry. He may not even  _be_  Harry anymore, but he's still himself.

He's Pikachu, just as Tim had reassured him. Harry had sacrificed his life, and he's going to make the most of it.

The new memories he's going to create with his partner are what matter the most.

Tim already knows what he's thinking. He can feel it, taking a small detective hat out of his pocket. He holds it out towards Pikachu, and his partner hesitates for just a moment before reaching a paw out to take it and place it back on his head where it belongs.

It feels...right. Something he hasn't felt since learning the truth. He doesn't feel so trapped anymore. He never really  _was._

He just needed to understand and now he does, realization dawning on him.

"It's good to have you back...partner," Tim says with another smile, and Pikachu smiles back widely in return.

Tim is his best friend. His  _partner._

He's  _Detective_  Pikachu, and he's here to stay. Home is wherever Tim is, and he can see that now.

As long as they're with each other, nothing else matters.

Together, they'll do what Harry would have wanted, following in his footsteps and holding onto the magic that had brought them both together.

Carry on.


End file.
